Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- tabithacatlin
- Oct 1, 2024
- 5 min read
Performed by 'The Royal Ballet' - Royal Opera House
Music by: Joby Talbot
Choreographed by: Christopher Wheeldon
Orchestrated by: Christopher Austin and Joby Talbot (arrangement with Chester Music LTD)
Immense theatre magic right in front of your eyes; Wonderland is brought to life in front of your eyes and you will not want to miss a second.
Review:
Book an evening or an afternoon off, because you are not going to want to miss this and take your family. The Royal Opera House are showing 'The Royal Ballet' Performing Lewis Carroll's classic tale of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' from September 28th - July 6th 2025. This was previously choreographed by Kevin O'Hare back in 2011 and is back on stage! This performance is absolutely exhilarating and breath taking. The visuals are constant and they keep on getting better and better. They truly brought a story book to life on stage. If you are looking for a show that transports you into another world for a few hours then this is the show for you. There is alot of work that went into making this long performance as magical as it was, so let's dive into it...
We will begin with the choreography and how this bought colour to the performers and was the foundation of the show. The ballet was choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, who has also choreographed for the New York City ballet and it is fair to say he knows exactly what to do to choreograph a high quality ballet. The 'Queen of Hearts' performance of the choreography was the most mesmerising, her sharp movements and the 'off with their heads' gestures brought intense comedy. The movements chosen for her truly showed her status. In Act Three we see the most of her and there are an array of lifts and question/answer sections with the staff and other characters with her. The moments of losing hold of her and falling showed the clumsyness in response to the staffs fear of her. It was so intriguing to watch and it is strange to find a ballet comedic. One of the most impactful moments of choreography is between the 'Madhatter' played by Calvin Richardson and 'Alice' played by Viola Pantuso in Act Two. The Madhatter wears tap shoes and performs tap movements fused with ballet, which is unique! Steven McRae is the Tap Dance Consultant for the performance. The contrast between the Madhatter and Alice, with him performinh a tap routine and her dancing along with him, but she is performing balletic movements was unexpected and stunning. The tap shows how all over the place the Madhatter is, his loud personality and scattered delivery. Whereas, the ballet shows how Alice is soft, elegant and the range of lifts/holds portray her need for help to get around Wonderland.
The other characters that help her get around Wonderland open up a huge variety of styles and textures for the performance. The 'Chesire Cat' is another of the iconic characters in the piece. He is a huge puppet and each of his body parts or areas of his face are held by a unison of people, that move to show the Chesire Cats movements and expressions. Puppet concept and design was created by Toby Olié, who also designed the puppets for Spirited Away on then West End. The Chesire cat appears piece by piece and will distract the characters on stage, the characters always seem to be enamoured by him. He is huge, noble and the unison of people that puppeteer him are excellent, you don't notice them (they are in all black) and they bring him to life. It is so realistic and well done! Another interesting method of costume that is similar is the Queen of Hearts huge, cupboard, heart, red dress, the guards pull her along and in Act Three they open up the dress to reveal her and the King. This is comedic and unexpected. The huge contraption for the Queen of Hearts costume shows her high, noble, status and how her guards have to pull her along clearly displays the power she holds over Wonderland.
The staging/set design is incredible and endless. You could write a book of all the intricate sets that are used throughout the show and there are ALOT. It is an endless journey! The most interesting scene was the doors. The drink me bottle falls on the stage slowly at the end of a rope and there is a back drop of doors and a curtain cleverly covers the back drop and bigger doors are projected on to the curtain, which was done so well that it looked like the doors were growing and she was shrinking. A small door also is remote controlled onto the stage, with wheels and when she opens the door and looks through, the lights on the audience come up with colour, confetti falls from the ceiling and dancers come on to dance around the audience. This was a surprise and immersed the audience for a small segment. It showed what world was through the small door, that Alice could not fit through.
Music plays a huge role in setting the scene and giving the characters their personality during their dancing. Music is by Joby Talbot, the English Composer has also worked on the music for Sing 1(2016) and 2(2021) and has written three full length scores for the Royal Ballets productions (including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). The score is stunning, it enhances the drama and comedy of the piece. The number where Alice and Jack/The Knave of Hearts played by Marcelino Sambé are in a beautiful garden and the music matches their beauty of their growing love for eachother. It fills the whole opera house with power and tranquility. It is a gift to be able to take in this music.
This Review could go on for pages and pages, there is so much to discuss. However, I would not want to spoil the magic of the performance and steal the element of surprise for you. The piece is very long, it is three acts and although it is a creative, visual piece, if you are not a lover of dance and appreciate a long ballet then this is not for you. However, it is a great ballet performance to take your children along too (if they have a good attention span) and it is fun for all the family. The experience is unforgettable and it's The Royal Ballet, the quality of the dance is incomparable and immaculate. You won't find better in the UK!
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