24 November – 7 January  2023

While writer Tom Morris and composer and lyricist Gwyneth Herbert have given E T A Hoffman’s 1816 original story a 21^st century makeover, like all incarnations of this family favourite, The Nutcracker remains, at its heart, a parable of the redemptive powers of love that we neglect at our peril.

Layered as three stories rolled into one – the real world, a dream world and a backstory to the dreamworld, the ballet version of The Nutcracker, performed to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, makes simple the transition from one to the next, the visual and aural delights so effortlessly sweep you through the story. Here, Morris’s literary cog wheels seemed, at times, a bit bunged up, leading to some confusion about just what was going on. And Herbert’s songs, while always well rendered, never reached ear worm status. Some overly long passages about the machinations of time prolonged the dark undertones of the story. And where the different layers of the piece intersected, where backstory met dream story, the audience needed to be sharp to keep up. But early references in the play to child neglect, partly through mobile phone overuse, were spot-on, as was the sense that everyone except young Claire was living entirely in their own bubble.

There was occasional lightness of touch from the live musicians, with some peachy sax playing from Guy Hughes as the princess Curly Pearly, but somehow this show cried out for more relief from its darker, more inward gaze. Patrycja Kujawska’s scene as Queen Spoon preparing the King’s sausages was one of the more obvious chances missed to engage a younger audience more – with a few hand-thrown sweets seeming more of an afterthought.

But despite these reservations, there was some excellent theatre-making on display. Tom Rogers’ fabulous time-themed set and costumes illuminated the evening while Lee Lyford’s direction always possessed a kinetic quality.

And there were strong performances from the entire company. Tristan Sturrock’s Mr Choke, the mysterious clock-maker, (Drosselmeyer in Hoffman’s original), produced a wonderful cross between an old-fashioned early Dr Who and a more conventionally dressed Willy Wonka.

Denzel Baidoo, in his acting debut as the Nutcracker, was mesmeric to watch as he veered from lithe to robotic depending on the status of the curse laid upon him. While Mae Munuo gave Claire, the little girl seeking more help with her quest to save the Nutcracker from the King of the Mice, just the right balance of feistiness and precocious empathy.

Perhaps it was the delightfully witty ending to this play that illustrated best how the story could have been treated throughout. For a Christmas show, this Nutcracker needed to connect more with its audience – a ‘Buttons’ to make us laugh or momentarily change the mood. The belting number at the end was a good send off, but seemed slightly out of character with the lead up to it.

★★★☆☆ Simon Bishop 1st December, 2022

Photo credit: Geraint Lewis