ZooNation: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Roundhouse

In this returning hip hop show from the much-acclaimed ZooNation, purveyors of the most successful hip hop dance in London, the haphazard tea party from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is transposed into the West Wing Ward W of an old-fashioned mental hospital.

Ernest, a psychotherapist and fresh graduate of the Institution of Proper Appropriate Behaviour, is assigned the patients of W, all of whom claim to come from a place called Wonderland. Breaking up their endless tea party, Ernest insists instead on ‘T for Therapy.’ But in true Mad Hatter spirit the psychotherapist becomes increasingly similar to his topsy-turvy patients.

The energy behind any ZooNation production is profuse, locking, popping and breakdancing through tightly packed and expertly executed routines. Their cheeky humour and witty storylines have seen them sell out West End venues. Music is provided by duo DJ Walde and Josh Cohen, against clever and colourful designs by Ben Stones.

Since its founding in 2002 by the enterprising Kate Prince, ZooNation has made its name turning traditional stories, so often the preserve of classical companies, into uplifting urban adventures. Into the Hoods (their take on the Sondheim musical Into the Woods) thrust a handful of fairytales into the many floors of a concrete London high-rise, and 2015’s ZooNation Groove on Down the Road (a Wizard of Oz interpretation) began in a school where all arts subjects had been cut.

ZooNation Mad Hatter tickets should prove the perfect counterpoint to the sugary Christmas ballets on offer, and will send you grooving energetically into the New Year.