Details
Venue: New Victoria Theatre, Woking
Dates & Times: 29th November - 1st December, 2.30 pm & 7.30 pm
Tickets: From £10
Our Verdict
Northern Ballet - Nutcracker
Choreographed by Northern Ballet artistic director David Nixon OBE, this production is an updated version of his original 2007 piece which itself moved the action to an English Regency drawing room, where the Edwards Family are hosting a Christmas Eve ball.
Act I fairly rattles along as we are introduced to the family – daughter Clara, her teasing brother Frederick and her elder sister Louise, anxious for her beau to arrive – and the mysterious Herr Drosselmeyer. Here the magic really begins, as he produces a series of life-sized dancing dolls before giving Clara an intriguing Nutcracker doll, quickly broken by her brother.
As the party ends and Clara heads to bed, the Nutcracker springs to life and the stage transforms into a battlefield as the wooden soldier takes on the might of the Mouse King and his rodent warriors. And it was at this point, that I felt the production came a little unstuck. While the stage of the New Victoria coped admirably with most of the ballet, here, things seemed a little cramped as the soldiers were joined by the cavalry and movements seemed a little constrained and messy. The Mouse King’s choreography also seemed a little out of kilter with the whole piece and the section felt generally rushed.
Northern Ballet - Nutcracker
However, magic was restored as the Nutcracker is turned into a boy and he and Clara are transported to an icy wonderland where the snow maidens dance amid the falling snow. This is a particularly beautiful scene, and the costumes (also by Nixon) and set design (Charles Cusick Smith) really come into their own. The Snowflakes had unquestionably beautiful individual dancers, but as a whole, they were rarely in perfect synchronisation, which was a shame. Nevertheless, the spectacle of the shimmering costumes, dry ice and softly descending snow, brought gasps from the appreciative Woking audience.
Act II, as is the tradition, is the showcase for some wonderful ballet performances, as company soloists perform an array of dances to Tchaikovsky’s instantly recognisable score. Mentions must go to Kevin Poeung for his breathtaking ‘Spanish’ section and to Riku Ito and Matthew Koon who received great applause for their effortlessly athletic ‘Chinese’ dance. The section closes with the magnificent Sugar Plum Fairy (Minju Kang) whose solo and pas de deux with the Cavalier (Javier Torres) almost had the crowd on its feet.
The ballet ends as Clara awakes back in her English home to the joys of Christmas Day and her Nutcracker doll.
I would urge those who may not have been to the ballet before to see this production – not only does it provide an evening of truly enchanted entertainment, but in the hands of the Northern Ballet, it is the perfect introduction to the joy of ballet, a joy that may just stay with you for life.
