This revival of David Nixon’s The Nutcracker lives up to all the highest expectations of a Christmas show par excellence. The scene is set (in a beautifully evocative design by Charles Cusick Smith) the night before Christmas. We are treated to some pre-festive antics with the children, Clara (Rachael Gillespie), and her brother Frederic (Matthew Koon). They squabble over the toy soldier (conveniently also a nutcracker) given to her by Herr Drosselmeyer. Matthew Topliss excels at the playing the masterful magician with great charm and power in his movement despite the numerous layers of clothing he has to contend with.
When Clara is unable to sleep she comes down to the front room and encounters a group of mice (played perfectly by the students of the Academy of Northern Ballet). Thus ensues a war led by the toy soldier in which the mice are defeated. Then Clara, as victor, encounters a prince (Ashley Dixon) and off they go on a sleigh-ride for two. Particularly noteworthy are Nixon’s astounding costumes which really capture the character’s individual style and temperament. And then the Northern Ballet Sinfonia under MD John Pryce-Jones really carry the action with the dulcet tones of the Tchaikovsky classic.
But is in Act Two that the magic really arrives with Clara and her prince exported to a cloudland where her fantasies really take shape. Of course, there is the legendary Sugar Plum Fairy (Lucia Solari) who does a dance in their honour – and what a dance! Then every type of set piece appears on stage, like the most energetic ballet lesson of all time. The choreography is world-class with an energy and dynamism that leaps off the stage. The show finishes with the familiar ruse that it was all a dream.
This is THE Christmas ticket for 2016 with a tour de force performance from the ensemble that is both enchanting and endearing. A must-see.
Reviewed by Rich Jevons on 16 December 2015 at Leeds Grand Theatre where it runs until 2 January 2016. see the Northern Ballet website for info on 2016 shows.