MADDADDAM
MADDADDAM
MADDADDAM
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian epic of annihilation and survival is transformed into a visionary new ballet by Wayne McGregor.
This visually stunning three-act ballet with a new score from Max Richter reunites creative collaborators from McGregor’s landmark 2015 ballet Woolf Works in a new work for our times.
This visually stunning three-act ballet with a new score from Max Richter reunites creative collaborators from McGregor’s landmark 2015 ballet Woolf Works in a new work for our times.
The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada
Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
The Sargent Charitable Trust, The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund and The Royal Ballet and Opera Patrons
Ms Anne Peet
Dame Tina Taylor DBE
Aud Jebsen
WHERE DOES OUR HUMANITY LIE?
In an imagined future not far from our own, a bio-engineered apocalypse has changed the Earth as we know it. An incongruous group of survivors must navigate a dangerous present – and make sense of the past.
Please read the full synopsis for more detail.
Background
Adapted from the works of a literary icon
Margaret Atwood’s exuberant imagination and disruptive wit in combination with her feminist and environmentalist perspective have assured her reputation over the last half a century as one of our greatest living writers. Known for her depiction of dystopian speculative futures in which, famously, nothing is invented that is not already taking place somewhere in the world, Atwood holds a mirror up to life, warning us of where we are headed and asking, ‘Who’s got the will to stop us?’
Wayne McGregor brings Atwood’s monumental trilogy of novels (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam) to the stage. Themes of extinction and invention, hubris and humanity, love and loss, are spliced together with aspects of Atwood’s non-fiction writings and activist voice in this exhilarating exploration of life beyond societal collapse.
Join Wayne McGregor and Max Richter for our exclusive Insights: MADDADDAM where they discuss the creative process behind the production of MADDADDAM.
Image credits:
Former First Soloist Tanya Howard and Christopher Gerty in MADDADDAM. Photo by Bruce Zinger. Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.
Heather Ogden in MADDADDAM. Photo by Karolina Kuras. Courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada.
Cast and Creatives
Creatives
Access
There is lift access and step-free routes to over 100 seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony and Amphitheatre. There are 10 steps or fewer to some seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony, Amphitheatre and the Donald Gordon Grand Tier. All seats in the Orchestra stalls are accessed by 9 steps or more. A handheld bell is rung by Front of House staff to signal guests to take their seats before a performance. The bell is loud and can be startling. The bell is rung approximately ten minutes before the show starts and at each interval.
We have an assistive listening system available to use.
Audio described guides for MADDADDAM are available on the Royal Ballet and Opera SoundCloud.
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