Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker

What a delightfully fun and comical take on such a well known classic. Matthew Bourne strikes again with this easy to follow but brilliantly creative Nutcracker, that although now in its 30th year, still feels very fresh and exciting from start to finish.

Bourne opts for a contrasting approach opening act one in a Dickensian orphanage where the young inmates (all played by adults) are celebrating a more modest Christmas Eve as opposed to the luxurious, present filled celebrations as seen in many classical versions. The monochrome costume and set at the beginning of act one feels cold and basic with its metal bed frames and thin sheets that are each shared by up to 4 orphans. This clearly highlights the difference between them and the rather privileged and bratty son and daughter of Dr. Dross and his wife - the owners of the orphanage. This also depicts Clara's reality rather than the dreamland she proceeds to enter into.

The costumes and set then seamlessly transition throughout, opening up into brightly lit blue sky full of fluffy clouds creating the effect of a snowglobe with a magical helping of snow floating down. This certainly brings all the festive feels. This continues into Act two where we see a huge burst of colour with both the set and costume. From the huge cake platform to the liquorice alsort costumes and the fluffy marshmallow hats, this stark contrast takes the audience even further from the real world of the orphanage as Clara enters ‘sweetieland’.

Just like the classical versions of the Nutcracker, this contemporary production still includes many of the traditional elements such as the magical growing Christmas tree, the transformation of the Nutcracker and falling of the snow, all set to Tchaicovsky’s classical score. However, one of the genius alterations was the re-thinking of the national dances. Instead, Bourne has created unique sweetieland characters all linked to their orphanage counterparts with which Clara’s friends become fluffy marshmallow girls, yobby gobstoppers, a trio of vain Liquorice allsorts and a luring Knickerbocker Glory.

The dancers have to be commended for their brilliant characterisation, each one so unique and consistent throughout. From the moment they introduce themselves with their simple but extremely effective actions and expressions, you feel like you know who they are and their personality. This continues through to the hilarious sweetieland characters that they become in act two. The dancing itself is equally creative as the rest of the production, consisting of a balanced helping of traditional and quirky movement content with so many comical elements that are a welcomed approach to what I ever imagined to see to such a traditional score.

It is certainly a unique show not to be missed.

WE SCORE THIS PRODUCTION 8/10