Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy MADDADDAM

In an imagined future not far from our own, a bio-engineered apocalypse has changed the Earth as we know it. An incongruous group of survivors must navigate a dangerous present – and make sense of the past. Inspired by Atwood’s speculative fiction, in which, famously, nothing is invented that is not already occurring somewhere in our world, MADDADDAM holds up a mirror to the terrifying consequences of unchecked scientific experimentation, corporate corruption and exploitation, channelling the sentiment and prescience of Atwood’s writing.

Act I
Castaway
In the aftermath of a global pandemic, a traumatized Snowman/Jimmy believes he is the last human being alive. He has led the Crakers – a peace-loving new race of hominid engineered by his one-time best friend Crake – out of the Paradice Dome, where they were created, and into the newly depopulated world. Feeling himself to be an interloper among Crake’s perfect people, he has dubbed himself ‘Snowman’ after the Abominable Snowman. He is haunted by fragments of memory about Crake and also the beautiful Oryx, Crake’s partner and the love of Jimmy’s life. Both are now dead.

Meanwhile, there are other survivors: Toby, a former member of the eco-pacifist God’s Gardeners, who hopes her friends may also be alive, especially her secret love, Zeb; Ren, an exotic dancer; Amanda, an artist and Ren’s best friend; and the Painballers, a group of violent criminals led by Toby’s former abuser, Blanco, who have escaped incarceration in the aftermath of the wipe-out.

Act II
EXTINCTATHON
A game of extinction and survival inspired by the computer game played by Crake and Jimmy as teenagers. As players ‘choose their skins’, we see the communities that inhabited the pre-apocalyptic dystopian world. The God’s Gardeners create their own sanctuary where Adam, their leader, preaches against materialism. Scientists play god, the violent CorpseCorps suppress dissent, and the MADDADDAM resistance disrupt. Time scrolls forward and back as encounters between players show glimpses of characters’ past lives in the years before the wipe-out. Amidst it all, Crake has a vision of a better world and creates first the Crakers and then the BlyssPluss pill – a drug that induces euphoria, but also contains the virus that will destroy humanity in the catastrophe that the Gardeners have foretold as the ‘Waterless Flood’. At the climax of the game, the fates of Oryx, Crake and Jimmy are decided, and Act II ends where Act I began.

Act III
Dawn
In the future, some generations after the Waterless Flood, the brave new world is peopled by evolved Crakers – the result of cross-breeding between Crake’s new hominids and the homo sapiens survivors of the wipe-out. As Crake had hoped, the Crakers live in harmony with nature and each other. Even romantic rivalry has been programmed out of them and reproduction occurs seasonally in a communal ritual. Yet, whilst Crake had tried to rid his species of symbolic thinking, the Crakers now honour their human ancestors through creating effigies and enacting fragments of their histories. The stories that were told to them first by Jimmy, and later by Toby, have evolved into the beginnings of a scripture in which Oryx and Crake are deities. And among the artefacts that have been preserved from the old world is a gun.

• MADDADDAM is not a literal translation of Atwood’s trilogy. Instead, McGregor has called it a “rendering” that evokes the feeling or sensory experience of the novels.
  
  
• While the ballet’s three acts do not correspond directly with the novels (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam), each presents a distinct world.
  
  
• Atwood’s trilogy presents the past and present of a post-apocalyptic world, the errant result of a scientist, Crake, trying to save the world from humanity.
  
  
• The survivors include Jimmy, Toby, Ren and Oryx, as well as the gentle Crakers – who were created to replace humans – and God’s Gardeners, who care for the environment.
  
  
• For MADDADDAM, McGregor reassembled the creative team behind his award-winning Woolf Works, bringing together some of the world’s most brilliant artistic minds.

Max Richter on Composing MADDADDAM
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Hope’s Insights on MADDADDAM
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Wayne McGregor is the award-winning creator of trailblazing performances that have radically redefined dance in the modern era. He is Artistic Director of Company Wayne McGregor, Artistic Associate at Sadler's Wells Theatre and Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet. McGregor was awarded a CBE in 2011 and a knighthood in 2024.

Canada’s most decorated author, Margaret Atwood has written more than 50 books of fiction, poetry, critical essays and graphic novels and she is published in more than 45 countries worldwide. Her bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale became an award-winning television series and The Testaments, the sequel, was the co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize.

German-born Max Richter combines many disparate elements in his score for MADDADDAM. He has said: “There’s some orchestral music and electronics and experimental things and techno. It mirrors this very hallucinatory, multi-world. I knew it could go big, but I also wanted something that could exist just on one or two instruments.”

Choreography: 
Wayne McGregor, CBE

Music: 
Max Richter

Creative Consultant: 
Margaret Atwood

Design: 
We Not I

Costume Design: 
Gareth Pugh

Lighting Design: 
Lucy Carter

Film Design: 
Ravi Deepres

Dramaturgy: 
Uzma Hameed

Sound Engineer: 
Chris Ekers

Staged by:
Jenny Tattersall

Choreologist:
Natasha Frid Finlay with Rosslyn King

World Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, November 23, 2022

Co-produced and commissioned by The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet (UK).

The Producers’ Circle (2023): Gail & Mark Appel, John & Claudine Bailey, Inger Bartlett & Marshal Stearns, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C., The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado, C.M. & Jim Pitblado, C.M., The Harry & Lillian Seymour Family Foundation and The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation.

Tickets can be purchased online at national.ballet.ca or over the phone by calling 416 (1 866) 345 9595. If you have questions about specific seating locations or need accessible seating, our Audience and Donor Services team are happy to help.

Main Season Seating Map

Tickets start at $56. Detailed pricing for each price zone is available at time of purchase.

When picking up tickets at the Box Office, you will be asked to provide photo ID and the credit card of purchase to receive your tickets. Please ensure you arrive in plenty of time to collect your tickets prior to the start of the performance.

For the safety of all patrons and staff, the Four Seasons Centre has implemented new enhanced security protocols for all mainstage performances and The National Ballet of Canada will be implementing bag checks during the Summer Season.

What to Expect

This June, the FIFA World Cup comes to Toronto and there will be increased activity in the downtown core. If you are attending a performance of MADDADDAM on June 17 or 20, The National Ballet of Canada strongly recommends that you take transit to the theatre and allow extra time for travel.

More information

• If you have provided us with your email address, you will receive a performance reminder two days before your performance date. This will include important information about the performance, as well as traffic alerts if there are road or TTC closures.
• You will also receive Hope’s Insights, an email from Artistic Director Hope Muir providing an in-depth look at the ballet or programme you are attending.
• If you haven’t already, sign up now for Ballet News to be the first to receive all the latest news and videos, including special offers, casting and dancer news!

Please note, the box office at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is open during The National Ballet of Canada’s performance season two hours prior to the performance start time. Doors to the Four Seasons Centre are open one hour prior to the performance. Our phone lines remain open for all your ticketing needs and tickets can be purchased online anytime at your convenience.

Gift Certificates are available in any denomination. Call (1 866) 416 345 9595.

A limited number of Rush tickets are available for up to 50% at 11:00 am on the day of the performance for select performances, subject to availability. Rush tickets are limited to two per person and can be purchased online with the promo code RUSH, or over the phone at 416 (1 866) 345 9595. Excludes The Nutcracker and the Gala.

Please Note: Rush tickets can also be purchased in person at the Box Office at the Four Seasons Centre, subject to availability. The Box Office is open two hours before the performance.

Standing Room tickets are $12 and go on sale at 11:00 am on the day of the performance. For 11:00 am performances on December 24 and 31, tickets will go on sale at 9:00 am. Standing Room tickets can now be purchased online with the promo code STAND, or over the phone at 416 (1 866) 345 9595. Subject to availability and limited to 2 per person. Tickets must be collected in person at the Box Office counter, open 2 hours before the performance. Excludes the Gala.

Please Note: Standing Room tickets can also be purchased in person at the Box Office at the Four Seasons Centre, subject to availability. The Box Office is open 2 hours before the performance.

Tips for Standing Room ticket holders:

• Please wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to stand for the duration of the performance
• In consideration of other audience members, please stand as close to the railing as possible and avoid excessive movement during the performance
• Not recommended for children
• Portable sitting devices and sitting on the railings is not permitted
• Each of the locations have a hook and a leaning rail, we recommend patrons be a minimum of 5’ height to view the performance clearly
• Please note, the Four Seasons Centre is not responsible for lost or stolen items

Toronto Arts Workers can access $45 Rush Tickets at 11:00 am the day of the performance, subject to availability, with promo code ARTSWORKERRUSH (excluding The Nutcracker and Gala). Tickets must be picked up in person at the Box Office, open 2 hours before the performance. Arts Workers must present valid Arts Worker ID when collecting tickets.

Please Note: Toronto Arts Workers tickets can also be purchased in person at the Box Office at the Four Seasons Centre, subject to availability. The Box Office is open 2 hours before the performance.

All performances take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, located at 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, on the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West.

The main theatre entrance can be found on the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West. There are direct entrances to the venue from Osgoode Subway Station and the underground parking garage.

Parking

Underground parking is available at the Four Seasons Centre for approximately 200 vehicles. The entrance is located on York Street, south of Queen Street West.

Additional parking is located just steps away at the GREEN P lot under Nathan Phillips Square. For more information on this and other lots in the vicinity, visit GreenP.com.

The designated drop-off area is located on the east side of University Avenue between Queen and Richmond Streets.

By Public Transit

TTC
Four Seasons Centre is directly accessible from Osgoode Subway station on Yonge-University Line 1. The 501 Queen streetcar stops outside the building at the corner of University Avenue. Visit ttc.ca for more information.

GO Transit
From Union Station, it's a 10-minute walk to the theatre, heading north along York Street to Queen Street West and west to University Avenue. Alternatively, you can take the subway from Union to Osgoode Station. Visit GoTransit.com for more information.

Yes. The National Ballet of Canada is committed to honouring its performance schedule and all performances proceed as scheduled, despite weather conditions and traffic delays.

If travelling to the theatre in inclement weather, please allow plenty of extra time and check the TTC or GO Transit for delays and updates.

The National Ballet regrets that tickets not used due to inclement weather, traffic delays or TTC closures cannot be refunded or exchanged.

For an up-to-date list of transit delays, please visit please ttc.ca or gotransit.ca.

All sales are final with no refunds. However, let us know up to 24 hours prior to a performance and we can exchange your tickets at a cost of $10 per ticket (exchanges are FREE for Subscribers).

Contact Audience and Donor Services at 416 (1 866) 345 9595 and provide your order number, which can be found on the right side of your printed or digital ticket, or on your order confirmation. Tickets may be exchanged up to 24 hours before your original performance date.

Subscribers are welcome to exchange tickets throughout the season free of charge.

Single ticket buyers can exchange their tickets, subject to a $10 per ticket exchange fee. Requests must be received 24 hours prior to the performance. Requests to upgrade to a different price zone will be charged at the time of the exchange.

Become a Subscriber

If you’re unable to attend your performance or exchange to an alternate date, you can donate back your tickets and get a tax receipt in the full amount. We are happy to issue a tax receipt for any value over $20. Contact Audience and Donor Services at 416 (1 866) 345 9595.

Yes but for the sake of our dancers and other audience members, latecomers will be seated only during a suitable break in the performance, so please be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the theatre.

Ticket prices are all inclusive and include a $2.00 Creative Capital Fund fee, 13% HST, $4.50 for Capital Improvement Fund and a $0.25 digital fee.

We welcome children who are old enough to enjoy The National Ballet of Canada's performances, however some of our productions may not be enjoyable for young children.

A child is considered aged two to 13, however we recommend that ballet performances are not suitable for most children under five. Babes in arms, or children under two years of age will not be admitted to performances.

We encourage questions with regard to the suitability of a performance prior to purchasing a ticket for a child and our Audience and Donor Services staff would be happy to advise you. Please call us at 416 (1 866) 345 9595 or email info@national.ballet.ca.

All patrons, including children, must have a ticket to enter the theatre; children must be seated beside the accompanying adult.

A child must be able to sit quietly and not disrupt the performance and other patrons.

Out of respect to our artists and other audience members, re-entry to the auditorium during the performance is not permitted. Please remain in your seat until the intermission or the end of the performance. If you must leave the auditorium during the performance, you can watch the performance on the TV screen in the Richard Bradshaw Auditorium and return to your seat after the intermission.

No! The National Ballet of Canada is the only official seller of National Ballet tickets and we do not authorize the selling of our tickets through third party vendors.

For all National Ballet performances, the only official website for tickets is national.ballet.ca. Customers will never be directed to another website to purchase tickets.

If you purchase at any other vendor, your tickets may be counterfeit. The National Ballet is not responsible for tickets purchased through any other means than our website or box office.

For the safety of our artists and the enjoyment of your fellow audience members, the capture of photographs and video during the performance is not permitted. However, you are welcome to take photographs of the curtain call.