Joss Arnott Dance announces dates and details for the world premiere of Meet the Hatter

Joss Arnott Dance is delighted to announce tour dates and further details for the World Premiere of its major new production Meet the Hatter, inspired by the iconic character from Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  

Created in celebration of Joss Arnott Dance’s 15th anniversary, Meet the Hatter tours the UK this autumn and winter to the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds (19 Sept), Mansfield Palace Theatre (1 & 2 Oct), Barnsley Civic (29 & 30 Oct), Lincoln Arts Centre (31 Oct & 1 Nov), Bradford Arts Centre (12 & 13 Dec), Darlington Hippodrome (11 Feb), Z-arts, Manchester (13 & 15 Feb), and the Heywood Civic Theatre, Rochdale (20 & 21 Feb).  

Combining dance, storytelling, original music, digital projection, lighting and animation, this imaginative new production offers a retelling of the beloved story of the Hatter, that sees him embark on a journey of growth and self-discovery.  

Faced with an empty tea party and a deep sense of isolation, the Hatter uses the power of his imagination to escape by creating his own magical version of Wonderland, shown through breathtaking and immersive multimedia.  

Choreographed by Artistic Director Joss Arnott, in collaboration with the dancers, Meet the Hatter features an award-winning creative team including Dramaturg Sue Buckmaster, Theatre-Rites, Composer Oleta Haffner, Multimedia Artist Urban Projections, Lighting Designer Josh Tomalin, Movement Consultant Miguel Altunaga and Animation Artist Alexandros Savvides. 

Sharing the solo performance role of the Hatter is Dominic Coffey and Robbie Ordoña. Dominic has previously worked with choreographers and companies including Rhiannon Faith, Gary Clarke, Joss Arnott and Cahoots NI. Robbie’s performance credits include Message in a Bottle by ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, Breathless Puppets by Akram Khan Company and has appeared in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie - The Movie, and Netflix’s Dance 100.  

Artistic Director and Choreographer, Joss Arnott said: “I am thrilled to announce our latest and most ambitious production to date, “Meet the Hatter” as we celebrate 15 years of Joss Arnott Dance. We’re delighted to be working on this exciting new production and collaborating with an award-winning team of artists to bring this new, spectacular story of the Hatter to life. Our thanks go out to Arts Council England, along with our funders and partners for supporting our vision. We can't wait to share this magical show with audiences across the UK later this year!". 

Meet The Hatter is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Commissioned by Lincoln Arts Centre. Supported by the Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement, Northern Ballet, Z-arts, University of Salford, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Children’s Capital of Culture, The Golsoncott Foundation and Unity Theatre Trust.