ZooNation

Linbury Theatre,
Royal Opera House | ★★★★✩

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London City Ballet

Sadler’s Wells | ★★★✩✩

Reviewed  by Joy Sable

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Lovers of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland should make their way to the Royal Opera House because two distinctive takes on the story are being staged this season. At the Linbury Theatre, Kate Prince’s company ZooNation is presenting The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, an upbeat, effervescent interpretation of the tale.

More pantomime then musical – audience participation is actively encouraged – the story is set in a dysfunctional mental institution. It offers the question: what is normal? The premise is that we should celebrate our differences rather than stigmatise those who are different.

Drug-induced paranoia, childhood abuse, bullying and obsessive-compulsive disorder are all analysed, albeit superficially, while the characters perform hip-hop moves around the stage and tell their own stories. Colourful and fizzing with vitality, this production is filled with high-energy choreography while singers perform from a gallery high above the stage. The music, by DJ Walde, Josh Cohen and Kate Prince, encompasses everything from hip-hop and house to reggae and I even detected a touch of Motown in some of the rhythms.

With mental health being a hot topic, this show offers a very clever – and certainly fun – perspective on a serious subject.

At the end of this month, the Royal Ballet begins its own series of performances of Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on the main stage. I can’t help but wonder what Lewis Carroll would have made of these two very different productions.

Over at Sadler’s Wells, London City Ballet made a welcome return, nearly 30 years after its closure due to financial difficulties. This small touring company had, as its patron, Diana, Princess of Wales and the mixed bill on show included film footage of the late princess visiting the dancers in rehearsal.

London City Ballet dancers in Ashley Page's Larina Waltz Credit: Alice Pennefather/ROH

Throughout, scenery was kept to a minimum, so the focus was on the dancing. The short programme began with Ashley Page’s pretty Larina Waltz, first performed at a Royal Opera House gala – a sparkling piece to kick off the evening. Kenneth MacMillan’s rarely seen Ballade followed. It is not vintage MacMillan but his characteristic lifts and dives that pepper so much of his more famous works were apparent and it was lovely to see the ageless Alina Cojocaru making an appearance as guest artist. An excerpt from his Concerto was shown later in the evening, beautifully danced by Isadora Bless and Joseph Taylor.

Five Dances by Arielle Smith showcased the dancers’ extraordinary versatility and rubber-limbed qualities, but I was not a fan of the music and it was overlong – three dances would have sufficed.

The evening closed with artistic director Christopher Marney’s take on the story of creation. Cira Robinson was a powerful Eve, with Alvaro Madrigal a creepy serpent.

I look forward to seeing more of this company’s work in the future.