From the mind of Joss Arnott comes a one hour, one-man contemporary ballet with Alice In Wonderland's Mad Hatter as the starting point of this imaginative and creative journey for children and their families.
We start at the tea party, although there are no guests and the table, although set, looks dilapidated, unused, and uncared for. And so this is the catalyst for an exploration of the Mad Hatter's character. This is done in spectacular fashion. Using computerised graphics on a screen, dancer Dominic Coffey creates a sympathetic and interesting character as he dabbles in magic, and follows the March Hare in something like a 1960's pop psychedelic trip! If anything in the way of criticism, then the music is a little too loud for optimal aural enjoyment, but the creativity, the journey, the presentation, is imaginative, and performed to split-second timing. This is Arnott's first deviation from his usual modus operandus presenting contemporary ballet with young graduates, and it is a superb departure. Clever, funny and engaging, this is a stunning performance using today's technology with amazing results.
We all wanted to meet the Hatter, and at the denouement, we did, again, this was done with panache and every single child in today's audience was enthralled... including this child, a middle-aged seasoned reviewer who thought he had seen everything until something like this comes along and surprises him... fresh, original, and utter magic!
Director / choreographer - Joss Arnott
I know Number 9 don't usually award stars, but for this, I simply have to give it a full five in any case!
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 14.2.26
