Alice’s Adventures UnderGround at Royal Opera House

This evening Royal Opera House spoilt us with a fabulous invite. Contemporary opera for kids (big kids, young kids, grown-up kids) Alice’s Adventures Underground is fun, frantic and madly fabulous. Expect the unexpected, anarchy and irreverence.

Directed by Antony McDonald and with Gerald Barry’s music, the surreal world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice is given few extra frantic twists.

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry; Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; London, UK; Alice – Claudia Boyle; Conductor – Thomas Adès; Music and Libretto – Gerald Barry; Director – Antony McDonald; Designer – Antony McDonald; Lighting designer – Fabiana Piccoli; Movement director – Lucy Burge; Photo: © ROH photographer CLIVE BARDA;

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry; Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; London, UK; Alice – Claudia Boyle; White Knight/Cheshire Cat/Mock Turtle – Mark Stone; Red Knight/Humpty Dumpty/King of Hearts – Joshua Bloom (left); Conductor – Thomas Adès; Music and Libretto – Gerald Barry; Director – Antony McDonald; Designer – Antony McDonald; Lighting designer – Fabiana Piccoli; Movement director – Lucy Burge; Photo: © ROH photographer CLIVE BARDA;

There are living chess pieces, royal babies and jam tarts, fish footman, croquet guests, riddles, poems, parodies, there’s French, German and Russian and it’s all utterly surreal. The kids were mouth wide, occasionally laughing and pointing to me at ridiculously delightful parts or hilarious non-senses. There are the classic Alice characters: the rabbits, the Cheshire cat, the Queen of Hearts, all mixed up Through the Glass with the Daisies, Humpty Dumpty, guards and so on. The up is down, basic maths need scrutiny, there’s jam just yesterday and tomorrow but never today.

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground at ROH

55 minutes and no interval, Alice’s Adventures UnderGround is one short, sharp shot of mayhem and ideal contemporary culture treat.  The pace is rather mad as well and there’s exhilarating danger at all points: the travel sense may be reversed, anyone can become anything, conventions change and so are the languages. For a schoolgirl to navigate this madness is even madder!

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry; Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; London, UK; From left: Red Knight/Humpty Dumpty/King of Hearts – Joshua Bloom; White Knight/Cheshire Cat/Mock Turtle – Mark Stone; White King/Mad Hatter – Sam Furness; Alice – Claudia Boyle; Red Queen/Queen of Hearts – Clare Presland; White Queen/Dormouse – Hilary Summers; Conductor – Thomas Adès; Music and Libretto – Gerald Barry; Director – Antony McDonald; Designer – Antony McDonald; Lighting designer – Fabiana Piccoli; Movement director – Lucy Burge; Photo: © ROH photographer CLIVE BARDA;

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry; Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; London, UK; White King/Mad Hatter – Sam Furness; Conductor – Thomas Adès; Music and Libretto – Gerald Barry; Director – Antony McDonald; Designer – Antony McDonald; Lighting designer – Fabiana Piccoli; Movement director – Lucy Burge; Photo: © ROH photographer CLIVE BARDA;

Having spent a gorgeous Sunday Family Day with Royal Opera House with kids a couple of months before, the 6 years old was super keen to return. This is best intro for opera for kids : we crafted puppets, made cards, dressed up with gorgeous stage costumes, we sang an opera chorus, danced, conducted, wined and dined. Can’t recommend warmly enough, book your sessions in here.

Royal Opera House rooftop terrace

In December we also fell in love with The lost thing – one powerful staging of Shaun Tan’s much awarded story via an outstanding cast of disabled and non-disabled singers, dancers and musicians.  We still talk about THE Lost Thing, the hilarious creature with 8 legs and 8 hands, which keeps on moving, changing, shrinking, expanding and contracting –  one topical fabulous  environmental parable.

Royal Opera House with kids

THE LOST THING at Royal Opera House

And now we were super thrilled to attend the opening evening for one iconic childhood book and favourite stories ever. Alice’s Adventures Underground runs at Royal Opera House until Sunday February the 9th, a short shot of mayhem so beautifully staged. Grab tickets in here and keep us posted on your impressions!

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry – Royal Opera House

‘I wish I could tell you half of the things’ . But then I would spoil it! 

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry; Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; London, UK; White King/Mad Hatter – Sam Furness; Conductor – Thomas Adès; Music and Libretto – Gerald Barry; Director – Antony McDonald; Designer – Antony McDonald; Lighting designer – Fabiana Piccoli; Movement director – Lucy Burge; Photo: © ROH photographer CLIVE BARDA;

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry

PS: Thank you so much to Royal Opera House for the invite . As usual cheeky kids and enthusiastic impressions, ours.