Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Full line-up revealed for Aberdeen’s breathtaking new Wonderland festival

Wonderland, Aberdeen's new festival, will feature a host of attractions and events, including a "theme park" of sounds of the Granite City.
Wonderland, Aberdeen's new festival, will feature a host of attractions and events, including a "theme park" of sounds of the Granite City.

The full line-up for Aberdeen’s newest festival, Wonderland, has been unveiled with events ranging from breathtaking aerial dancers soaring over Broad Street to a “theme park” full of the sounds of the Granite City.

Along the way, there will be art installations inspired by the city’s infamous witch trials and a nod to Houdini’s death-defying manacled dive into Aberdeen Harbour.

In total, there will be 22 new performances, installations, displays and workshops at venues across the city centre over the weekend-long one-off festival, running from September 8 to 11, and all of them will be free.

High-flying aerial dance will bring a sense of wonder to Aberdeen in the Wonderland festival.

Wonderland will bring the city centre to life with a magical, exciting and vibrant programme, said Ben Torrie, Aberdeen Performing Arts’ director of programming and creative projects.

Wonderland will make all of Aberdeen’s city centre a stage

“We are delighted to be working with so many established and emerging artists to explore our much-loved city in new ways and give visitors an unforgettable experience and a fun day out. We are looking forward to making all the city a stage this September,” he said.

One of the most spectacular events of the weekend will be thrilling aerial dance performances with performers suspended from a crane and specially-built platform on Broad Street.

The performance – Sense Of Wonder – is inspired by the cityscape’s mix of old and new and is a collaboration between All Or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre and Aberdeen’s own Citymoves Fusion Youth Dance Company.

The Enchanted Era Emporium will take people back to the heady days of the Beach Ballroom at its height.

Meanwhile, the Bon Accord Centre will host Right Up Your Street, a dance work held at the Enchanted Era Emporium. Visitors can choose a song from the enchanted jukebox – with popular tunes from the past 100 years – then see what happens.

Thomas Small, the award-winning choreographer and artistic director of Shaper/Caper, said it would be a joyful celebration of dance from the 1920s to the present day.

“We want to celebrate Aberdeen’s rich dance history and legacy – the dance halls, such as Palais de Danse and the Beach Ballroom – and Aberdeen’s bright dance future through the work of dance academies and agencies like Citymoves,” he said.

Wonderland will showcase Aberdeen as a buzzing hub for art and culture.

Harry Houdini’s Aberdeen Harbour dive has inspired a work of art

Meanwhile, the city centre Kirk of St Nicholas will host witchtrialversion, a series of experimental sound performances by Sweætshop which will explore the city’s witch burnings through a unique historical lens.

St Nicholas has also inspired another film and sound installation to be performed during Wonderland. The kirkyard is the final resting place of trailblazing magician John Henry Anderson – the Wizard Of The North. His work inspired Harry Houdini, the escapologist who plunged into Aberdeen Harbour, handcuffed and chained.

The Sensational Silver City, by creative visual artist Graeme Roger, uses that as a starting point with footage of local people filmed underwater, against the ethereal voices of an Aberdeen chorus.

Houdini (left) at John Anderson’s graveside (unidentified male right) in the St. Nicholas Kirkyard.

Meanwhile, sounds of the city – from gulls to church bells and ships’ horns – feature in Aberdeen Sound Park, created by north-east composer Pete Stollery, which will be at several city centre locations during Wonderland.

Loud and clear message that Aberdeen city centre is buzzing

During the weekend, the city will also be home to installations, such as banners on the St Nicholas Kirkyard Collonade on Union Street, sculptures in the Bon Accord Rooftop Garden and a sacred well and tree on St Nicholas Street.

There will also be an Urban Grow Dome, where visitors can listen to new songs by Rebecca Dunn, surrounded by plants grown in community groups across Aberdeen, as well as many other installations and works inspired by plants and nature.

Wonderland will also have as its hub the pop-up venue, the Wonder Hoose which will be constructed in Marischal Square Quad and remain in place through September with a varied programme of music, comedy, cabaret, theatre and family shows.

Wonderland is being delivered by Aberdeen Performing Arts on behalf of Culture Aberdeen, which has been awarded funding from the UK Government Community Renewal Fund and Aberdeen City Council,

For more information and details about Wonderland visit aberdeenperformingarts.com


You might also like…

Conversation