Brisbane audiences are about to discover a world beyond their imagination.
The Australian Ballet in association with Queensland Performing Arts Centre will present the internationally renowned blockbuster production Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland©at the Lyric Theatre from Monday 25 February to Saturday 2 March 2019, following sell-out seasons in Melbourne and Sydney last year.
The production was honoured with two prestigious awards at the 2018 Helpmann Awards held in Sydney recently. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland © won Best Ballet and The Australian Ballet’s Principal Artist Ako Kondo received the Helpmann Award for Best Female Dancer in a Ballet, Dance or Physical Theatre Production for her unforgettable performance as Alice.
Tickets for the critically acclaimed production will be in high demand when they go on sale to the public on Friday 20 July. Queensland Performing Arts Centre customers will have pre-sale access to tickets from Wednesday 18 July.
Created by one of the world’s greatest living choreographers, Christopher Wheeldon, this spectacular ballet translates the wit and charm of the original tale by Lewis Carroll into a world of colour, fun and fantasy. Extraordinary choreography, a wildly imaginative set and inventive costumes will transport audiences into a world of absurdity and pure wonder.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© was created by Wheeldon on The Royal Ballet in 2011 and has since enthralled audiences the world over. Wheeldon is best known in Australia for cutting-edge works like After the Rain© and the rapid-fire DGV©: Danse a grande vitesse. In this highly entertaining work, he reimagines the beloved storybook classic using ballet’s traditional structures, interspersed with dramatic twists, comedic turns and with a modern edge.
Designer Bob Crowley’s thrillingly creative sets and costumes establish a new standard for stage design. The magical world of Wonderland and its absurd and fantastical inhabitants are brought to life through puppetry, optical illusion, immersive digital projections, and countless wigs, masks and intricately detailed, vibrant costumes.
Highlights of the design include an eerily disembodied, grinning Cheshire Cat puppet manipulated by six dancers, and a sensuous indigo Caterpillar with eight pairs of bejewelled pointe-shoe-clad feet.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© will be the fifth work Christopher Wheeldon has staged for The Australian Ballet. “The Australian Ballet’s dancers are a perfect combination of athletes and artists. Their style is dynamic and visceral. They are daring and expressive, sensitive and technical. Above all, though, they have great humanity. This generosity spills out of the studio and onto the stage and can be felt by their audiences,” Wheeldon says.
The award-winning choreographer sums up the classic tale as a hero’s journey. “Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole and follows the Knave to try to clear his name. In the end, she rightfully stands up to the Queen of Hearts and takes the fall for stealing the tart. She is an honest girl who believes in the truth. She also discovers love for the first time, which makes it both a coming of age story, as well as a whimsical journey of great adventures and discovery.”
Joby Talbot’s theatrical score sweeps the action along and reflects Alice’s responses to the strange events unfolding around her. All the romance and theatricality of a 19th-century ballet score combine with more contemporary sounds to create a witty and melodic score.
“Alice’s journey is quite a rollercoaster ride. She shrinks, grows, nearly drowns, is threatened with capital punishment, and rescues a baby from the cooking pot. All these adventures have to be expressed musically and I have used every trick I can think of to chart her extraordinary adventures,” says Talbot.
The Australian Ballet’s Music Director & Chief Conductor, Nicolette Fraillon, says Talbot’s score is regarded as one of the finest full-length works ever created for ballet. “This score is brilliant theatre, with incredibly creative use of colour. It is a work of real genius, and I don’t use the word lightly. From the moment it starts until its end, this score is absolutely Wonderland,” explains Fraillon.
THE STORY BEHIND THE BALLET
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland©
During a garden party at her family home, Alice enjoys the company of her crush, Jack, and the amusements of a family friend, Lewis Carroll. Her day takes a curious turn when Lewis transforms into a White Rabbit, and she tumbles down the rabbit hole after him. Alice finds herself in a world of wonder, as she embarks on a series of absurd, hilarious and at times frightening adventures. Jack has become the Knave of Hearts, relentlessly persecuted by the bad-tempered Queen of Hearts. Alice finds a magic cake which turns her into a giant. She swims in a lake of her own tears. She encounters a mysterious Cheshire Cat, and then a bizarre tea party presided over by a Mad Hatter. She meets a Caterpillar perched on a mushroom, and then, at last, is reunited briefly with the Knave in a magical garden. The tyrannical Queen of Hearts is torturing her subjects with dance demonstrations and a strange game of croquet, all the while blithely ordering the executions of those who displease her. The Knave is finally discovered and brought to trial, and mayhem ensues. Alice comes to his defence and together they deliver a testimony that wins the hearts of all but the Queen. When Alice attempts to flee, the court comes crashing down. The very next minute, Alice awakes.
CREDITS
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon
Music Joby Talbot
Orchestrated by Christopher Austin and Joby Talbot
Scenario Nicholas Wright
Set and costume design Bob Crowley
Lighting design Natasha Katz
Projection design Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington
Original sound design Andrew Bruce
Staging Christopher Saunders
Puppet concept and design Toby Olié
The production was commissioned and first performed by The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.
The Kenneth R Reed Fund generously supports the recreation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© for The Australian Ballet.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Brisbane
25 February to 2 March 2019
Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
With Queensland Symphony Orchestra
STEP INSIDE THE BALLET
The Australian Ballet’s much-loved Step Inside program offers a rare look behind the curtain.
Behind the Scenes. Every morning, six days a week, our dancers take class. It helps them find new heights of technical excellence and maintain their peak fitness. Get a privileged, in-theatre view of their training, with commentary by artistic staff, then sit in as our top dancers rehearse for an upcoming production.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Friday 1 March, 11.30am
McAllister in Conversation
Our artistic director chats to principal artists, choreographers, designers, and international dance stars in this intimate series of talks. Moving, frank and funny insights into the lives of our top creatives.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Saturday 2 March, 5.00pm
TICKETS ON SALE
Queensland Performing Arts Centre is offering an exclusive pre-sale for its customers, running from Wednesday 18 July 2018. For bookings visit www.qpac.com.au
Tickets go on sale to the general public from Friday 20 July 2018. For bookings visit australianballet.com.au
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