0:00:28 > 0:00:31Over the past few months here at the Royal Ballet,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34there's been an intoxicating buzz in the air -
0:00:34 > 0:00:36along the corridors, in the rehearsal rooms -
0:00:36 > 0:00:41as everyone prepares for this brand-new production of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45And much to my surprise and delight, I'm a small part of this.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I've been invited to take on the role of the Duchess.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55This is the company's first full-length narrative ballet
0:00:55 > 0:00:57with newly-commissioned score for 20 years.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02They've chosen Christopher Wheeldon who trained at the Royal Ballet as choreographer,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and Joby Talbot to compose the score.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Along with a fabulous cast peppered with some of the finest dancers in the world.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Lewis Carroll's vivid story of Alice and her encounters
0:01:20 > 0:01:23with the intriguing characters that inhabit Wonderland
0:01:23 > 0:01:26has become part of our national DNA.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Since its publication in 1865, the book,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33along with its famous illustrations by Sir John Tenniel,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35has never been out of print,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38inspiring generations of composers, artists, film-makers
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and choreographers in a search for the eternal spirit of childhood.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Alice In Wonderland is the curious tale of a young girl
0:01:50 > 0:01:54from our ordinary world who, one summer afternoon, falls down a rabbit hole,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and then experiences a series of extraordinary adventures.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It also is at heart, of course, the tale of a child
0:02:01 > 0:02:05coming to terms with the chaotic and complex adult world around her.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08In this production, Alice is played by Lauren Cuthbertson,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10one of the rising stars of the Royal Ballet.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13In the book, Alice says at one point,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15"I don't want to go among mad people."
0:02:15 > 0:02:20To which the cat replies, "You can't help that. We're all mad here.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22"I'm mad, you're mad."
0:02:22 > 0:02:25"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29"You must be," replied the cat. "Else you wouldn't have come here."
0:02:29 > 0:02:33You could only see the dark side of the Lewis Carroll tale.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35The violence, the, you know...
0:02:35 > 0:02:39the suggestion of hallucinogenic properties.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Um...
0:02:41 > 0:02:45But there's also...an innocence about it
0:02:45 > 0:02:48that has kept it as a fairytale,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51has kept it as a children's story.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56We begin in the world of Alice in the real world,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58at a garden party in Oxford.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And all the characters that then she encounters in Wonderland
0:03:02 > 0:03:07become caricatures of the people that arrive at this little garden party.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Stand by, please. House lights to half for the announcement. House lights out,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15conductor's light up and down.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16Stand by.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25APPLAUSE
0:33:54 > 0:33:56HE HOOTS
0:33:56 > 0:33:58ALL HOOT AND HOLLER
0:51:15 > 0:51:18APPLAUSE
1:10:47 > 1:10:52APPLAUSE
1:10:52 > 1:10:58So, as the Queen once again shatters any chance of friendship between Alice and the Knave,
1:10:58 > 1:11:01time for a short break while they prepare the stage for Act Two.
1:11:07 > 1:11:10This is the first time I've worked with the Royal Ballet,
1:11:10 > 1:11:12needless to say,
1:11:12 > 1:11:14and it's also the first time that I've worked in full drag,
1:11:14 > 1:11:18so it's been a fascinating experience.
1:11:18 > 1:11:23Watching the company prepare this ballet has been a revelation.
1:11:23 > 1:11:26Their capacity for relentless hard work and their commitment
1:11:26 > 1:11:30to their art has been wonderful for me to witness.
1:11:30 > 1:11:34A particular joy has been getting to know Lauren Cuthbertson
1:11:34 > 1:11:38who's playing Alice. Her performance is a real tour de force.
1:11:38 > 1:11:39As we've just seen in Act One,
1:11:39 > 1:11:42she doesn't stop dancing for something like 70 minutes,
1:11:42 > 1:11:43which must be unprecedented.
1:11:43 > 1:11:48Developing the stamina to achieve this has been a major challenge
1:11:48 > 1:11:50as she explained breathlessly during rehearsals.
1:11:50 > 1:11:54It sure is tiring. There's 14 scenes in Act One
1:11:54 > 1:11:57and Alice is in every single one of them.
1:11:57 > 1:12:01But it was really good to give it a good go
1:12:01 > 1:12:03and to realise the continuity of it
1:12:03 > 1:12:06and how you cannot stop if there's a minor error,
1:12:06 > 1:12:08and if you want to change or tweak something you can't.
1:12:08 > 1:12:11It's a live show and you just have to keep going
1:12:11 > 1:12:13and stay in character, and that was the joy of doing it -
1:12:13 > 1:12:16because you find that you grow to know Alice
1:12:16 > 1:12:19even more just by doing it with no stops.
1:12:19 > 1:12:22And you can react to all the different characters without a break
1:12:22 > 1:12:26and getting a drink of water and getting notes from Chris,
1:12:26 > 1:12:31so it was really useful, but I'm so tired!
1:12:31 > 1:12:34In this ballet Alice is a little bit older than she is in the book.
1:12:34 > 1:12:38She's more like 15...yeah, 15 years old.
1:12:38 > 1:12:42She's ahead of her time,
1:12:42 > 1:12:45and she's ahead of her time in the original story.
1:12:45 > 1:12:50She's a bright kid, and she, I think, is a little bit uncomfortable
1:12:50 > 1:12:54with the restriction of being a Victorian child.
1:12:54 > 1:12:58She's almost a contemporary child in the wrong era.
1:12:59 > 1:13:02One of the major aspects of this staging is
1:13:02 > 1:13:03the fabulous design.
1:13:03 > 1:13:07For Bob Crowley the challenge was to create something new and enthralling,
1:13:07 > 1:13:11yet to remain within the spirit of the original children's book.
1:13:13 > 1:13:15I tried to get around the whole John Tenniel,
1:13:15 > 1:13:18the illustrated side, because that's what's in my head.
1:13:18 > 1:13:21I grew up with those illustrations.
1:13:21 > 1:13:23We had to have one reference.
1:13:23 > 1:13:25I thought it would be perverse not to.
1:13:25 > 1:13:28And I knew what it would be. I knew it would be the Cheshire Cat.
1:13:28 > 1:13:31That was the only time. I thought we should reference that because I think
1:13:31 > 1:13:36you'd be cheating the audience out of the pleasure of that,
1:13:36 > 1:13:38and the way round that was not to do it
1:13:38 > 1:13:43as an illustration, but to make the illustration three dimensional.
1:13:43 > 1:13:46So that's where the Cheshire Cat came from.
1:13:46 > 1:13:49'This is the main house call, ladies and gentlemen,
1:13:49 > 1:13:50'this is your beginners' call
1:13:50 > 1:13:54'for Act Two of Alice. Beginners to the side stage please.
1:13:54 > 1:13:57'The red light is still on. Ladies and gentlemen of the orchestra
1:13:57 > 1:13:58'to the pit please...'
1:13:58 > 1:14:00That's the Act Two beginners' call,
1:14:00 > 1:14:03but I'm not on for 10 minutes or so which gives me a chance to listen to
1:14:03 > 1:14:06the marvellous score by Joby Talbot, played by
1:14:06 > 1:14:09the Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, under the mercurial baton
1:14:09 > 1:14:10of Barry Wordsworth.
1:14:10 > 1:14:13APPLAUSE
2:09:24 > 2:09:28APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
2:15:43 > 2:15:45APPLAUSE
2:18:39 > 2:18:43APPLAUSE
2:23:25 > 2:23:28APPLAUSE
2:35:26 > 2:35:29APPLAUSE
2:42:34 > 2:42:37APPLAUSE
2:42:51 > 2:42:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE CONTINUES THROUGHOUT CURTAIN CALLS
2:42:58 > 2:43:01That's the end of the show. It's coming to the end of my time here.
2:43:01 > 2:43:03So... I'm going to miss it terribly.
2:43:03 > 2:43:06It's been an enormous privilege working with this company.
2:43:06 > 2:43:09I'd love to do it again. I don't suppose I will!
2:43:09 > 2:43:11This is the choreographer, Christopher!
2:44:03 > 2:44:06So that brings us to the end of this brand-new production
2:44:06 > 2:44:09of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.
2:44:09 > 2:44:12As the performers take their bows,
2:44:12 > 2:44:15it's worth reflecting on the Royal Ballet's achievement
2:44:15 > 2:44:18in creating such a wonderful production.
2:44:18 > 2:44:22It's been a sell-out run, and it's been thrilling for this huge cast
2:44:22 > 2:44:23to be part of a major hit.
2:44:41 > 2:44:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
2:44:44 > 2:44:46E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk