This spring, Scottish Ballet presents the world premiere of Alice, an extraordinary adventure into the depths of imagination, sponsored by Adam & Company, and hosts a special film event at Eden Court, Inverness (see below).

After tumbling through a camera lens, Alice finds herself in a strange dreamlike place. Drifting through episodes from Lewis Carroll’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.

Almost 150 years ago three sisters – Alice, Lorina and Edith Liddell – shared a leisurely boat trip on the river Isis with family friend Reverend Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). The children began to grow restless and Alice, the feistiest of the three, begged Dodgson to invent for her a wonderful story ‘with lots of nonsense in it’ – and so Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland began.

In this brand new production for Scottish Ballet, Artistic Director Ashley Page takes scenarios and characters from both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Carroll’s sublimely surreal sequel published some six years after Wonderland, to create a magical new ‘life through a lens’.

And indeed photography and imagery plays an important role in this new Alice. Not only does Alice tumble into a strange new world through Dodgson’s camera lens (he was a photographer and inventor as well as mathematician and clergyman, and is often considered one of the best amateur photographers of his time) but look closely and you’ll see photographs of Alice taken by Dodgson worked through the set, and specifically the beautiful Victorian magic lantern style animations that feature throughout the piece.

This brand new production of Alice sees Page work once more with composer Robert Moran who Scottish Ballet commissioned to create a brand new score.

And not only does Scottish Ballet’s Alice feature a Dali-esque, tango-dancing Caterpillar but, with designer Antony McDonald, Page has created a world of delightfully curious characters that include an eccentric Humpty Dumpty with design cues by way of late British artist Leigh Bowery, a busking, trumpet playing Mock Turtle dressed in Harris Tweed fabric and a Cheshire Cat with showbiz style to match her enormous grin.

Antony has also worked with Scottish Ballet sponsors M·A·C, and most specifically M·A·C Senior Artist Caroline Donnelly to create some beautiful make up looks for the characters in Alice – a first for the make up brand who have sponsored the Company for several years.

Alice is sponsored by Adam & Company. Adam & Company has been a supporter of the arts for many years and this is its third year as headline tour sponsor of Scottish Ballet.

Scottish Ballet’s dedication to staging performances of the highest standards reflects perfectly Adam’s aim to provide the very highest levels of service to all of its clients, and last year Adam & Company received a commendation in the Arts & Business Scotland Awards for its sponsorship of Scottish Ballet’s 2009 autumn season.

Graham Storrie, Managing Director of Adam & Company said: “Adam & Company is delighted to be continuing its sponsorship of Scottish Ballet and to be further developing our partnership for this production of Alice.”

“As with all of our sponsorships that have charitable status, we feel that it is important to provide our support, particularly in such challenging economic times, so that we can help preserve this wonderful art for future generations and enable outstanding work to be produced and performed.

“Simultaneously, it is important for us to be able to thank our clients for their support and provide access to bespoke rehearsals and productions and our association with Scottish ballet is an excellent way of showing our appreciation.”

Cindy Sughrue, Chief Executive and Executive Producer at Scottish Ballet added: “We are delighted to be embarking on the third year of our very successful sponsorship with Adam & Company. Their continued support of Scottish Ballet is testament to the benefits that both companies receive and we look forward to working with them on our world premiere of Alice.”

Alice premieres at Theatre Royal Glasgow 12 – 16 April, before touring to Edinburgh, Inverness (27-30 April), Cardiff and Aberdeen (11-14 May).

On 24 March at 8pm Scottish Ballet will host a special Alice On Screen event at Eden Court Cinema, Inverness. Opening with an exclusive preview of the concepts behind the Company’s new production of Alice, including the music, set and costume designs, the evening will conclude with a one-off screening of Jan Svankmajer’s 1988 film Alice, a surrealist take on Lewis Carroll’s stories combining live action and stop-motion animation. For more information, or to book tickets please contact Eden Court box office directly on 014630 234 234.

Source: Scottish Ballet