Alices are popping out all over the place. Tim Burton is partly to blame for the latest batch with his Johnny Depp film Alice in Wonderland in 3D last year. Here in Italy there is an (awful) touring musical Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie, opening on Broadway in a few days is Wonderland, and of course there is the current Christopher Wheeldon ballet at Covent Garden. But let's not forget that other balletic offering, Alice from Scottish Ballet which opens in April.
Their internet site gives little away:
Scottish Ballet and the creative team behind Cinderella and The Nutcracker present Alice, an extraordinary adventure into the depths of imagination.
After tumbling through a camera lens, Alice finds herself in a strange dreamlike place. Drifting through episodes from Lewis Caroll's treasured stories, she meets a series of fantastical characters, who each impatiently try to teach her something, and guided by Carroll himself, she has to rely on her wits to find her way out.
Featuring choreography by Artistic Director Ashley Page, otherworldly designs from Antony McDonald and a specially commissioned musical score by Robert Moran, this is an unforgettable take on the most curious of tales.
Ex-Royal Ballet boy himself, Page must have been enraged when Monica Mason announced the Royal's plans after Scottish Ballet had already presented their project. However after his many successes with the company he can't be too nervous about comparisons with Wheeldon's approach – but guess who had the biggest budget!
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
