Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy
Thursday 14 November 2024 7pm
The 1st performance by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House.
Please note that casting is subject to change up until the start of the performance. Please continue to check the website for the most up-to-date information.
The performance will last approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including two intervals
40 minutes
30 minutes
30 minutes
25 minutes
35 minutes
A co-production between The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada
Wayne McGregor
Max Richter
© 2022 Decca Publishing, a division of Universal Music Publishing Limited
Margaret Atwood
Koen Kessels
We Not I
Gareth Pugh
Lucy Carter
Ravi Deepres
Uzma Hameed
Chris Ekers
Amanda Eyles
Jenny Tattersall
Mikaela Polley
Jessica Wright
Joseph Sissens
Fumi Kaneko
William Bracewell
Melissa Hamilton
Lukas B. Brændsrød
Sae Maeda
Leticia Dias
Gary Avis
Milan Yep
Téo Dubreuil
Aiden O'Brien
Artists of The Royal Ballet
Students of The Royal Ballet School
Melissa Hamilton
Fumi Kaneko
Sae Maeda
Leticia Dias
Joseph Sissens
William Bracewell
Lukas B. Brændsrød
Giacomo Rovero
Gary Avis
Marianna Tsembenhoi
Ashley Dean
Nadia Mullova-Barley
Chisato Katsura
Amelia Townsend
Liam Boswell
Harry Churches
Francisco Serrano
Harrison Lee
Artists of The Royal Ballet
Students of The Royal Ballet School
Marco Masciari
Ashley Dean
Marianna Tsembenhoi
Artists of The Royal Ballet
Students of The Royal Ballet School
Joseph Sissens
Melissa Hamilton
Lukas B. Brændsrød
Leticia Dias
Giacomo Rovero
Sae Maeda
William Bracewell
Fumi Kaneko
Students of The Royal Ballet School appear by kind permission of the Artistic Director, Iain Mackay
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Sergey Levitin
Tilda Swinton
Josh Davidson with special thanks to Tif Loehnis
St Wendel of all the Altman’s Community Chorale
Tenebrae
Kevin O’Hare CBE
Dame Ninette de Valois OM CH DBE
Sir Frederick Ashton OM CH CBE
Constant Lambert
Dame Margot Fonteyn DBE
In the aftermath of a global pandemic, a traumatised Snowman/Jimmy believes he is the last human being alive. He has led the Crakers – a peace-loving new race of hominid engineered by his one-time best friend Crake – out of the Paradice Dome, where they were created, and into the newly depopulated world. Feeling himself to be an interloper among Crake’s perfect people, he has dubbed himself ‘Snowman’ after the Abominable Snowman. He is haunted by fragments of memory about Crake and also the beautiful Oryx, Crake’s partner and the love of Jimmy’s life. Both are now dead.
Meanwhile, there are other survivors: Toby, a former member of the eco-pacifist God’s Gardeners, who hopes her friends may also be alive, especially her secret love, Zeb; Ren, an exotic dancer; Amanda, an artist and Ren’s best friend; and the Painballers, a group of violent criminals led by Toby’s former abuser, Blanco, who have escaped incarceration in the aftermath of the wipe-out.
A game of extinction and survival inspired by the computer game played by Crake and Jimmy as teenagers. As players ‘choose their skins’, we see the communities that inhabited the pre-apocalyptic dystopian world. The God’s Gardeners create their own sanctuary where Adam, their leader, preaches against materialism. Scientists play god, the violent CorpseCorps suppress dissent, and the MADDADDAM resistance disrupt. Time scrolls forward and back as encounters between players show glimpses of characters’ past lives in the years before the wipe-out. Amidst it all, Crake has a vision of a better world and creates first the Crakers and then the BlyssPluss pill – a drug that induces euphoria, but also contains the virus that will destroy humanity in the catastrophe that the Gardeners have foretold as the ‘Waterless Flood’. At the climax of the game, the fates of Oryx, Crake and Jimmy are decided, and Act II ends where Act I began.
In the future, some generations after the Waterless Flood, the brave new world is peopled by evolved Crakers – the result of cross-breeding between Crake’s new hominids and the homo sapiens survivors of the wipe-out. As Crake had hoped, the Crakers live in harmony with nature and each other. Even romantic rivalry has been programmed out of them and reproduction occurs seasonally in a communal ritual. Yet, whilst Crake had tried to rid his species of symbolic thinking, the Crakers now honour their human ancestors through creating effigies and enacting fragments of their histories. The stories that were told to them first by Jimmy, and later by Toby, have evolved into the beginnings of a scripture in which Oryx and Crake are deities. And among the artefacts that have been preserved from the old world is a gun.
Suitable for ages 16+
This production contains adult themes, including depictions of violence, sexual violence and animal violence. There are two gunshots in Act I: Castaway.
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust with the generous support of Aline Foriel-destezet, Season Principal
Generous philanthropic support from The Sargent Charitable Trust, The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund and The Royal Ballet and Opera Patrons
In memory of Ms Anne Peet
Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor generously supported by Dame Tina Taylor DBE
The 2024/25 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
We are working hard on our commitment towards becoming more sustainable and are striving for our net zero goal of 2035. By using digital cast sheets and e-tickets, we have reduced our paper consumption by over five tonnes per year. You can view our digital cast sheets on a computer, tablet or smartphone by scanning the QR codes displayed around the building using your smartphone’s camera app. They are also displayed on screens outside the auditoria. Cast sheets are generously supported by the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund.
Photography and filming are prohibited during performances in any of our auditoriums. You are welcome to take pictures throughout the rest of the building and before performances and share them with us through social media. Commercial photography and filming must be agreed in advance with our press team.
Larger bags and backpacks need to be check into our complimentary cloakrooms. Unattended bags may be removed.
Please do not place any personal belongings on the ledges in front of you.
Only bottled water and ice cream purchased from the premises can be taken into the auditorium.
If you arrive late to the auditorium or leave during a performance, you will not be allowed back to your seat until the interval or a suitable break.
Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere on the premises.
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Our staff are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect and we ask that you show them and your fellow audience members respect too. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach in response to anyone who interacts with our staff or with fellow audience members in an intimidating, aggressive or threatening manner.
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