Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has inspired countless adaptations, but few take the bold, acrobatic leap that Cirque Alice does. From the creator of Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple and Broadway hit The Illusionists, Cirque Alice transforms Lewis Carroll’s classic tale into a visual symphony of motion and emotion. Making its Asian premiere in Singapore, the production transforms the familiar tale into a two-hour feast of circus artistry, music, and surreal spectacle – less a retelling of the story than a reimagining of its spirit.
From the moment the White Rabbit, played by British violinist Darius Thompson, appears with a fiddle solo, the tone is set: whimsical, musical, and just a touch mad. It’s a clever opening that blurs the line between theatre and concert, drawing the audience straight into Wonderland.
Then comes Alice herself, played by Australian soprano Layla Schillert, gliding onstage in a gown so voluminous it seems to have a life of its own. She sings with poise and clarity, her voice cutting through the chaos with surprising grace.
Alice with the Playing Cards
And yet, Alice is less the protagonist than the thread that binds the spectacle together. Around her swirl the true stars of the show – the acrobats, the contortionists, the jugglers and daredevils – whose physical feats often eclipse the story itself. One dazzling act follows another, leaving the audience so enthralled by the spectacle that the story becomes almost beside the point.
Indeed, Cirque Alice isn’t about narrative coherence. One could watch the entire show without knowing Carroll’s story and still be thoroughly entertained. The performers borrow the characters, the Tweedles, the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, as touchpoints for visual invention rather than storytelling. The show’s logic is one of escalation: each act grows more daring, each sequence more audacious, as if the performers themselves were tumbling ever deeper down the rabbit hole.
It’s worth noting that all of this unfolds not under a circus tent, but within the confined space of the Sands Theatre, a stage that demands precision as much as daring. The performers push the limits of what’s possible in a proscenium setting, executing gravity-defying stunts within arm’s reach of the audience. Sitting close to the stage, one feels both awe and a tinge of peril, as if any slip could send a performer crashing into the front row.
Wonderland, Reimagined Through Acrobatics
The TT Boys from Ethiopia, as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, deliver one of the evening’s standout moments. Their Icarian Games act – a blur of flips, spins, and gravity-defying launches – is equal parts athleticism and mischief. Watching them, one forgets the constraints of the stage; it’s pure kinetic joy.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum
The Caterpillar
Then comes a hypnotic interlude from the contortionists, whose synchronised movements as the Caterpillar transform the stage into something almost sculptural. Their bending bodies form intricate, fluid shapes, eerie and beautiful all at once.
Perhaps the most jaw-dropping act of the night belongs to the Ramadhani Brothers from Tanzania, portraying the Red and White Knights. Balancing head-to-head, literally, while climbing stairs and manoeuvring with impossible control, they draw gasps from the crowd. It’s the kind of act that makes you clutch your seat, especially in the intimate theatre setting, where the stage feels thrillingly close and every movement magnified.
Red and White Knights.
Threading the acts together is Jeff Hobson as the Mad Hatter, a seasoned magician and showman who knows exactly how to work a crowd. His blend of slapstick, illusion, and audience interaction keeps the pace buoyant. At one point, he swallows a balloon; later, he disappears entirely into one. It’s ridiculous, ridiculous fun, and it gives the audience a chance to exhale between the more nail-biting stunts.
Mad Tea Party
Interestingly, the famous “Mad Tea Party” scene never turns into the kind of boisterous song-and-dance number one might expect on a theatre stage. Instead, the focus remains firmly on the acrobatics, on human daring rather than whimsical chatter. The same holds true for the deck-of-cards sequence, which bursts briefly into life before yielding the spotlight to the Queen of Hearts, whose hand-balancing act closes the scene with commanding elegance.
Romance and danger intertwine in the aerial duo of Maria Romanenko and Alexander Vakar from Ukraine, performing as flamingos. Suspended high above the stage, their movements are lyrical and nerve-racking at once, their sudden drops prompting audible gasps. Equally thrilling are Leandro Zeferino and Anastasiia Vashenko, the roller-skating Royals who spin across a platform barely larger than a dining table, connected by a neck strap that tests both balance and trust.
Visually, Cirque Alice is spectacular: lavish costumes, shimmering lights, and fluid set changes that transform the stage from dream to dream. The music, part live, part recorded, carries the emotional momentum of the show, from tender ballads to pulse-quickening crescendos.
What makes Cirque Alice remarkable is not its storytelling, but its structure. The show builds like a symphony, with tension and difficulty escalating from act to act, culminating in a finale that leaves the audience exhilarated. It’s less about Alice’s journey than about the thrill of witnessing human bodies pushed to their limits.
By the end, you realise that Cirque Alice doesn’t need a story, and not even Alice. The acrobatics, the music, the spectacle — they’re enough to carry you through Wonderland. Even if Alice were to disappear entirely, the show would remain just as dazzling. In the finale, Alice reappears to deliver a soaring rendition of Ave Maria — sung with impeccable control and crystalline tone. It’s a breathtaking performance, no doubt, though one can’t help wondering: what does it have to do with Wonderland?
In a world saturated with digital effects, Cirque Alice reminds us that the most breathtaking illusions are still those created by human skill and daring. It’s a circus for the modern imagination and a night of wonder that truly lives up to its name.
WHAT: Cirque Alice
WHERE: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands
WHEN: 9 to 19 October 2025; Approximately 115 minutes (with 20-minute intermission)
Tickets: Tickets are priced from S$78 to S$238*; Available via Marina Bay Sands, SISTIC and Klook.
*Dynamic pricing applies; booking fee excluded.
