Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts 3d model at Shanghai Disneyland Resort

In the Alice in Wonderland sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass, the 49-year-old, London-born star gets to play on a stage best described as the theatre of the absurd, assembled by director James Bobin using a style established by the original film's director, Tim Burton. And that environment – one part imagination, four parts cold, impersonal soundstage ringed by fabric curtain onto which the film's special effects team will matte the sets and effects – is not without its challenges.