Wayne McGregor's Ballet Adaptation of Atwood's Oryx & Crake Trilogy Premieres at Royal Opera House

Choreographer Wayne McGregor's ballet MADDADDAM, adapting Margaret Atwood's Oryx & Crake trilogy, premiered at London's Royal Opera House for an eight-show run. The production condenses Atwood's post-apocalyptic science fiction novels into a two-hour performance featuring a score by composer Max Richter. Set in a genetically engineered future where humanity is nearly wiped out by a pandemic, the ballet depicts survivors navigating a world with mutant creatures like 'pigoons' and 'Children of Crake.' The narrative follows five main characters, including Crake, Jimmy, and Oryx, exploring their relationships through dance sequences that incorporate video projections, puppetry, and LED screens. A 2022 staging by the National Ballet of Canada preceded this London presentation. The adaptation includes scenes of raves, cannibalistic gangs, and a love triangle, with contemporary references such as a MAGA hat and pharmaceutical imagery. While the third act features innovative choreography for the Children of Crake, the production struggles to coherently translate the books' complex subplots, resulting in fragmented storytelling. The ballet's focus on human romantic concerns omits many of Atwood's mutant creatures, and its attempt to address themes of genetic engineering and apocalypse feels frictionless, lacking audience engagement with the underlying causes of disaster.