Damon Albarn, the musical wunderkind who brought America Britpop at its purest and then went on to co-found the animated group Gorillaz, is gravitating toward the stage again–this time with a theatrical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. After his previous adaptations of two operas, Monkey: Journey to the West and Doctor Dee, Albarn appears to have taken a shine to this realm of entertainment. Looking as though he’s fallen down the rabbit hole
Although Alice in Wonderland is one of the most overly adapted stories in pop culture (particularly when considering how badly Tim Burton botched it with his Johnny Depp version), Albarn seems to be bringing a fresh take to the story with a modern revamping of the plot. Called Wonder.land, this version of the tale finds the lead character creating an avatar of herself that falls down a virtual rabbit hole. Yes, it’s all very futuristic in a potentially very brilliant or very shitty way. Albarn’s Alice is to be modernized
Seasoned playwright Moira Buffini, best known for adapting 2011’s Jane Eyre with Michael Fassbender (a must-see, particularly if you’re a philistine with no intention of reading the book), will pen the script, which might just be able to help Albarn carry this off. So if you’re in the Manchester area around July, be sure to gander at the final product at Palace Theatre.
