REVIEW: English National Ballet - Nutcracker at Mayflower Theatre

English National Ballet are bringing Christmas back to Mayflower Theatre yet again with an all updated version of the classic ‘Nutcracker’. ENB’s new re-telling of the festive ‘Nutcracker’ was choreographed by Artistic Director, Aaron S. Watkin and Olivier Award winner, Arielle Smith. It follows the same story that many of us are aware of, but is updated in design, set, and choreography. Now you may have heard of the story of ‘Nutcracker’, or if you don’t, you probably synonimize it with Christmas. The story is one that has been retold multiple times over the years but the 1892 ballet version by Tchaikovsky is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 short story of the same name - which is actually a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffman’s 1816 short story ‘The Nutcracker and The Mouse King’.

To cut a long story short and not give too much away, the story basically follows a young girl named ‘Clara’ who receives an enchanted Nutcracker as a Christmas gift and discovers a magical world all on the night of Christmas Eve. You may have also heard of the phrase ‘Sugar Plum Fairies’, and ‘Nutcracker’ is exactly where this comes from. This is actually my first time seeing one of ENB’s ballets, and its very fair to say that I will be back again! Impressive doesn’t begin to match what I saw, in terms of music, scale, and dance. From what I’ve read and seen, this new re-telling has changed from last year, and as much as I would’ve liked to see that more traditional ballet from last year - I am so glad that I saw this new and updated version. ENB are renowned for their dance, but this version instantly gave me a vibe that I wasn’t expecting. It was almost like the ballet had been ‘Matthew Bourne-ified?’.

This ballet is a 2 act split with a a small prologue at the front of Act 1. Usually in my reviews I like to sum up what I thought of certain performances or sections within the show, but I think it only right that I give each act its own rundown (as I usually do with ballets). However I’d firstly like to give the whole company a huge round of applause and congratulations as they were all flawless. Each dancer left their all on that stage, and the way in which they told this story through only movement was exceptional. That goes for the orchestra telling the story through music as well - phenomenal. So without further ado:

The Prologue was the perfect set up to the story. It follows ‘Drosselmeyer’ in his workshop and sweetshop making the enchanted ‘Nutcracker’. This is also when we meet ‘Clara’ who falls in love with the ‘Nutcracker’ whilst shopping with her mother. In the market we meet the sinister figure of ‘Uromys Grimsewer’ and his gang. ‘Grimsewer’ is like the ‘Fagin’ character if you will. This whole part of the show was incredibly impressive, I mean what a way to start a show. The projected effects and storytelling were brilliant, I’ll touch a little more on this later, but it think it is one of the first times where the protection mapping didn’t seem corny or cheap and instead actually worked and got you more fully immersed in the story. The link we also see between ‘Drosselmeyer & Clara’ is beautiful here. The fact that this ballet uses actual children instead of the dancers just acting as children is brilliant. It’s part of what makes the story in my opinion.

Act 1 is where the real story begins, including the conflict. From a party, to a fierce battle, to the moonlit sky and the ice realm. These dancers bring magic to life. There is so much story here and without dialogue, I know a lot of people that haven’t seen a ballet worry that they will get lost with what is going on. This was the complete opposite of that. You knew exactly what was going on at all times and I think that is ultimately down to the incredibly talented dancers. The dancing they’ve trained their whole lives for is obviously incredibly impressive, but the acting involved I think usually gets overlooked. The facial expressions alone could portray a thousand emotions. Amazing from them all. Unfortunately, I don’t have a full cast list of who played who last night, but young and grown ‘Clara’ were both incredible. You forgot that you weren’t watching the same person. This act is also where we meet the ‘Nutcracker’, ‘Nutcracker Prince’, and ‘Rat King’. This particular battle scene is great. Dancing as these guys do, is hard enough on its own, let alone in extravagant costumes like these ones. Again, one big reason that I think ballet dancers aren’t just dancers, but instead athletes.

Act 2 is where the real magic comes onto the stage. The pair dancing in this act is beautiful. Not only between ‘Clara & The Nutcracker Prince’ but for the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ as well. As ‘Clara’ is in the Land of Sweets and Delights, she tries all of the different sweets and then that sweet comes to life and does a dance, as if its what you feel when you’re eating that sweet. I loved this part of the show, it was so clever and energetic - just really, really fun. Everything about it was colourful, and I mean really colourful. You hear iconic music that you know throughout the ballet, but none more than in this act. ‘The Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy’ was just as magical and beautiful as imagined. The ending to the show was also the perfect way to end it (I’m not going to give it away). And yes, it really did get me into the Christmas spirit afterwards.

I mentioned earlier that the set and overall design was incredible. I genuinely think that it could be one of the most impressive sets I’ve seen from a ‘Classical Ballet’. I also mentioned Matthew Bourne when it comes to the set and I think that is what the effects instantly reminded me of. At the start of Act 2 we see a flying chariot (also at the end of Act 1), but before ‘Clara & The Nutcracker Prince’ end up dancing on the clouds, we see a POV projection of the chariot and where it is flying too. Personally, this is the one bit of projection mapping that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but it totally understand why they have done it. Arts like ballet are judged to be for an older audience, but I think it is great that younger people or people that have never seen a ballet, are starting to get into theatres to see them. Artistic design changes such was this are one of those little things that isn’t only impressive to watch, but also keeps interest to try and make ballet more accessible to all. The whole design aspect as I’ve mentioned was truly remarkable. The costumes were fantastic, the physical set was grand, and the special effects were literally magical. There’s always a lot of room for things to go wrong when you mix physical effects with digital and dance - but this was inch perfect and I think it is something everybody should see.

When it comes to the music, again it’s no surprise of how beautiful it sounded. Tchaikovsky has a huge number of instantly recognisable songs, and a lot of them are in ‘Nutcracker’. You find a lot with ballets and operas, that you may hear one or two songs that you recognise over the course of a 3 hour show. However in ‘Nutcracker’, these recognisable songs are every other song. I love having a live orchestra in a theatre, it brings the whole story together, and ENB’s orchestra have done exactly that again. You feel the music when its being played live, and it’s hard to describe but it adds so much emotion that you just lose if it’s played through a soundtrack. Honestly incredible. I think everybody needs to hear both ‘III: March’ & ‘Dance of The Sugar-Plum Fairy’ live. If that doesn’t get you in the Christmas spirit, I don’t know what will.

To sum up, English National Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ is truly a spectacle that I think is a must see. The more I keep on writing, the more I remember, and the more I want to keep on writing. The way in which this classic story and ballet has been adapted for a modern audience is extremely clever. It hasn’t lost any of its class or charm, and it is just as impressive as the original. It’s colourful, it’s energetic, and the dance is magical. If you’re a fan of ballet, or even if you’ve never seen a ballet - this is one I highly recommend. Either to see a twist on a classic, or to be the perfect gateway into the world of ballet. I for one, cannot wait until ENB are back in town. If you’re wanting to catch this production, you have one more night in Southampton before it makes its way to the London Coliseum for the Christmas and New Year Period. I wish the whole company the best of luck going forward.