5 STARS, October 9-28. Curiouser and curiouser! William Gadsby Peet enjoys a barnstorming ballet adaptation of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece of imagination
Andrej Uspenski.
Before I begin this review, I should probably confess: I know absolutely nothing about ballet. I am, however, a rather dutiful son, and, knowing that my mother loves everything about the world of tipped toes and tights, I sought out a pair of tickets to this adaptation of Lewis Carroll's beloved fantastical tale for her (don't applaud just yet, I'm currently living back at home and don't pay rent so really an evening at the ballet is the least I can do!).
Anyway, while I may not be able to tell you the difference between a pirouette and an arabesque – if asked I honestly would have ventured that an arabesque was a 15th-century flintlock rifle up until a quick Google just now – I do think it speaks volumes about how good a production the Royal Ballet has put together here that even for a complete ballet pagan such as myself, the three hours absolutely flew by and I would happily recommend buying a ticket to anyone who asked.
It's hard to pick out a particular aspect of the production for praise, as everything about it is simply magnificent. The work by Christopher Wheeldon to faithfully adapt Carroll's tale is absolutely masterful, and it was a stroke of genius to choose a story everyone who had enjoyed even a whiff of a childhood would be familiar with. There are so many magical, madcap characters to be brought to life, offering so many opportunities for form and invention.
To take the words of a far better informed journalist than myself, Sarah Crompton, "Alice has a rigorous classical structure, with all the ingredients that a 19th-century choreographer would recognize: solos, pas de deux, pas de trois, pas de quatre, défilés. All are organized relatively conventionally. But everything is given a vigorous twist by the sheer richness of Wheeldon's invention, and by his willingness to transmute the traditional classic vocabulary with the shock of the new."
Andrej Uspenski
Take the mad hatter, for example. Superbly played by Calvin Richardson, Wheeldon has reimagined this central figure as a tumultuous, tap dancing tempest of energy and silliness. His dance with Alice in the Second Act is an enjoyable whirlwind of whimsy as the pair beat a tantalising tattoo through the famous tea party scene. The Mad Tapper, if you will. The Cheshire Cat enjoys a similarly clever twist, as about a dozen stage hands dressed entirely in black each take control of an individual body part to create a mysterious and mischievous floating figure that stays true to the original book as well as the famous 1951 portrayal by Disney.
There are some genuinely funny moments throughout, the majority of which have the superbly evil Queen of Hearts – played brilliantly by Itziar Mendizabal – dictating their comedic pulse, if you'll excuse the pun. A particular moment of choreographed genius comes in the third act, when The Queen showcases her dancing skills with the unenthusiastic help of three separate partners who fall over themselves to try and avoid a miss-step that could prove fatal due to The Queen's proclivity for ordering executions.
I could quite happily go on – there's still oodles for me to tell you about hedgehog croquet, a caterpillar in high heels, and a dance routine involving the act of making sausages – but I don't want to ruin all of the fun for you. I should add before I go, however, that special mentions are more than merited for Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Vadim Muntagirov and James Hay for their incredible portrayals of Alice, The Knave of Hearts and The White Rabbit respectively. The three are central to the vast majority of the action throughout, and the stamina shown by Stix-Brunell as Alice is of particular remark as I can't remember a period longer than a minute where she wasn't dancing, flawlessly.
This is a brilliant evening's entertainment that I would urge you to go and see; a fantastic spectacle that assaults all the senses and does Carroll's assertion that “Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality” proud.
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is showing at the Royal Opera House until October 28. For more information and to buy tickets, visit: roh.org.uk. You can also watch a live screening of the show on October 23 at a variety of cinemas up and down the country. To find a cinema near you hosting a live screening, click here.
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