Margaret Atwood’s novels have been famously adapted into movies, plays, and a hit television show. Now her work will be interpreted through a different medium—ballet.
Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy of novels will form the basis for a three-act ballet that will premiere later this year in Toronto before traveling to the United Kingdom, the Guardian reports.
The ballet, called MADDADDAM, is based on Atwood’s trilogy of books comprised of Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAdam. It’s being produced by the National Ballet of Canada and England’s Royal Ballet.
It’s the brainchild of Wayne McGregor, the prolific British choreographer who previously adapted three Virginia Woolf novels into a ballet called Woolf Works.
“MADDADDAM is inspired by Atwood’s speculative fictions, in which, famously, nothing is invented that is not already occurring somewhere in our world,” the National Ballet of Canada said on its website. “In Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, humanity has nearly been obliterated apart from a small group who must forge a new way of life in the ruins of their known world.”
“McGregor channels his curiosity about various artistic forms, science, and technology into trailblazing multidisciplinary works that position dance at the centre of contemporary art and ideas,” the ballet company said. “Like McGregor, Margaret Atwood pushes the boundaries of traditional forms and genres in her work and has long been fascinated with scientific discovery.”
MADDADDAM will debut in Toronto on Nov. 21.
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas–based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
