Take a step through the looking glass this weekend as Aberdeen becomes Wonderland…
And the Granite City’s newest arts festival promises to be a riot of fun, colour and spectacle with dance, theatre, artworks and music that you simply can’t help but discover and enjoy, say organisers.
“Even if you are just going into Bon Accord for your shopping, you will run into stuff,” said Jo Matthews, programmer for the Wonderland festival that will see events across the city centre from Thursday to Sunday.
“While there are performances at certain times, there a lot of things you can just wander in and out of and make it part of your day in a casual way if you want to.”
The Wonderland delights on offer range from aerial dances high above Broad Street to an enchanted jukebox playing tunes from the past 100 years and even a “theme park” of the sounds of Aberdeen.
Something very special is happening in Aberdeen this weekend
With 22 new performances, installations, displays and workshops dotted across the city – from roaming artists to empty shops brought back to glorious artistic life, it will certainly be hard to miss the fact something special is happening in Aberdeen.
And that is the point, said Jo.
“It’s going to be like the title says… a Wonderland. You’ll be able to walk around and because everything is so close together, you’ll be taken by surprise and be able to feel the buzz, from visual arts pop-ups to an aerial dance show.
“It’s going to be quite an exciting trail people can enjoy.”
Jo said Wonderland – produced on behalf of Cuture Aberdeen by Aberdeen Performing Arts – is a very visual festival with one high-flying event capturing a lot of attention.
“The aerial dance show – All Or Nothing’s Sense Of Wonder – is going to be a big spectacle,” said Jo, adding it involves dancers suspended high above Broad Street from a crane.
Wonderland festival is a ‘love letter to Aberdeen’
“All Or Nothing have been working with Fusion Youth Dance Company, based in the Anatomy Rooms. The dancers are going to be level with the top line of the buildings at Marischal Square.”
But there are smaller and quieter gems to be found, too, over the course of the weekend.
“I would definitely go to Still, which is part art installation and part ‘Still Stop’,” said Jo of the sensory garden to give people a pace for reflection.
“The artist Emma Furman is inviting people to go and have a quiet moment at Marischal Square, next to Provost Skene’s House.”
And Wonderland has a special hub in the Wonder Hoose – a unique pop-up venue in the quad of Marischal College that will host events ranging from dance to a concert by singer-songwriter Kathyrn Joseph.
Behind the sheer fun and joy of Wonderland – described as a “love letter to Aberdeen” – lies a more serious intent in the post-pandemic landscape of the north-east.
Jo said: “The narrative in the news was that the city in particular had been hit really hard in Covid, so (Wonderland) is an opportunity to bring something for people and to invigorate the city and reimagine the city and put it on the map again and to bring out the positives.”
Wonderland is built by and around creatives from the north-east
Which is why Wonderland is very much a home-grown festival, built around and by creatives from across the north-east.
Jo said: “We did a call out and the main criteria was people were either from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire or had a strong connection with the area.
“The other criteria was for shows that had a big visual impact, to push that celebration of creativity in the city to grab people’s attention and take them away for the weekend.”
That is reflected in the themes behind some of the attractions of Wonderland – such as the Aberdeen SoundPark on the roof garden of Bon Accord, which blends music with the sounds of the city ranging from church bells to ship horns and even screeching gulls.
There is also a nod to the city’s darker history, with witchtrialversion2 at St Nicholas Kirk, a sound-performance exploring Aberdeen’s infamous witch hunt of the 16th century.
Jo said the festival will be very much one that comes to people – everywhere you look over the weekend, Wonderland will make its presence felt – but she has some thoughts on the best way to enjoy it.
“Get the dance shows in your diary, then just wander about and allow yourself to be surprised… just go with the flow of it,” she said.
“Come with an eagerness to try and see things you’ve not seen before. Just try it all.”
How to find out what’s on at Wonderland this weekend
And while she hopes people enjoy Wonderland, she also hopes it will leave an impact and resonance beyond the weekend.
“I think it’s really important for the city to have art, especially local art because I think creativity helps. It brings happiness, obviously, but it helps open people’s minds and I think that’s important.”
For full details about Wonderland, visit aberdeenperformingarts.co.uk
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