Nutcracker

English National Ballet - London Coliseum

Every year, this show gets better and better. ENB have created a spellbinding show that makes you feel that Christmas excitement you felt as a child.

Magical work by the English National Ballet (ENB). The Nutcracker is an elite Christmas show, and the ENB manage to capture the beauty and glory of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's composition perfectly. This year, they have embellished the show and taken the production value to a top-level GOLD standard. If you can get yourself tickets to this delicious work of theatre art, then I strongly urge you to go.

If you are unaware of the story of the Nutcracker, let's get you up to speed, shall we? Drosselmeyer has a workshop above his sweet shop, and he creates this stunning toy, which we all know as the iconic NUTCRACKER. When it is put into his sweet shop, the young main character, Clara, is captivated by the Nutcracker toy and is then gifted this marvellous toy later on. Then, this sparks to magic of the show, as Clara falls asleep, she is guided on a spellbinding journey in her dream world where the Nutcracker battles a rat king, and Clara slays this evil rat. Then, her Nutcracker transforms into a handsome prince who shows her this magical world filled with delicious delights.

One reason the ENB have made this show such a gold standard is by portraying this story in such a vibrant and clear manner. It keeps adults and children locked into the story. The design elements (set and costume) by Dick Bird and choreography by Aaron S Watkin and Arielle Smith focus on the idea of Clara growing into a young woman. They incorporate 'Votes for Women' moments in the piece as well, and this shows how Clara is forming her own opinions and independence. This is an empowering addition to the show, which I LOVE. But let's talk about the magic, because the tricks that they do on stage, some of them I genuinely have no idea how they did it. Which is what makes you feel like a child full of wonder and believing in this Christmas magic again. Oh, it's just wonderful.

There are so many aspects of the show that are beautiful and enchanting. Dick Bird has crafted some special pieces in this show. Whilst everything on set is beautiful, the dancers bring the show to life and what a grand selection they are. Delilah Wiggins plays Clara, and as a young dancer, she shows her clear love for ballet and brings that Christmas excitement to life. It's wonderful to watch. The pair that stands out are Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw, they play the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier and Mr and Mrs Stahlbaum. Their energy and precision are divine. They are high-standard ballet dancers who captivate the audience with their skill that appears effortless, but you know the work they are putting in is unreal. All the dancers create this beautiful story and add their own personalities and skills to create this delicious and delightful show.

It's quite clear that THIS is the production of the Nutcracker that is the one to watch this festive season. It stands out with its authentic charm, and the dancers are the best selection I've seen. Such energy and character. This show is not only glorious, but the colour and variety you watch on stage is what makes it so interesting, it's almost like a beautiful Nutcracker pop-up book. I would go as far as to say that it is a good competitor to Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker production with its authenticity and storytelling style. What a show ENB! This is an elite theatre Christmas gift, and what an elite standard of ballet.