Satellite Screening From The Royal Opera House

FOLLOW ALICE DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE IN CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON’S
EXUBERANT BALLET, INSPIRED BY LEWIS CARROLL’S MUCH-LOVED BOOK

The Royal Ballet at its best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment.

★★★★“Go Bonkers for this classic take on Carroll” The Times

★★★★ “a feast of visual delights and technical wizardry (both digital and analogue). Every audience member will have their own favourite element: the tiny door that scoots around on its own perhaps, or the giant Cheshire cat realised through Japanese puppetry so that its limbs disperse and reassemble in pleasingly loopy ways” the Arts Desk

Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real.
Alice encounters a cast of extraordinary and instantly recognizable characters, from the highly strung Queen of Hearts – who performs a hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty’s famous Rose Adage – to a playing-card corps de ballet, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter. But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story: a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and the unhinged tea party are all here in vivid detail. The delicious result shows!

At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole events become curiouser and curiouser… As Alice journeys through Wonderland, she encounters countless strange creatures. She’s swept off her feet by the charming Knave of Hearts, who’s on the run for stealing the tarts. Confusion piles upon confusion. Then Alice wakes with a start. Was it all a daydream?

APPROXIMATE RUNNING TIME:
2 HOURS 50 MINUTES, INCLUDING
TWO INTERVALS
CHOREOGRAPHY
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
MUSIC JOBY TALBOT