The Nutcracker - Royal Albert Hall ★★★★★

To foreshadow ethereal events, the show begins with animatronics and puppet-like silhouettes on stage, visible through the window of Drosselmeyer’s toy-making shop, with a few characteristically Dickensian bodies that work outside it in sequence. With a voiceover by Simon Callow punctuating the narrative, this production of The Nutcracker begins with a magical feeling that never fades. With glistening accompaniment from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, this production embodies all that is joyful and festive.

The story begins when Clara’s parents host a Christmas Eve party, inviting her eclectic godfather Drosselmeyer to perform a magic show. He gifts Clara a Nutcracker doll and Fritz (her brother) a Rat King puppet. Act I is full of delicate and cheerful group choreography by Peter Wright. With a cast of about 70 dancers, it is a joy to watch so many young performers take to the stage with such delicacy and high spirits. All of which is aided greatly by John Macfarlane’s wonderful costumes. Clara’s mother (a former ballerina) wears a fantastic Victorian blood-red gown and huge diamonds. A Jack-in-the-Box springs to life in balloon trousers and a curly tailcoat! The Harlequin and Columbine costumes are also mesmerising. Most statement pieces are tie-dyed in tasteful ways to make Macfarlane’s ideas a contemporary take on the traditional. The shape of his costumes importantly enhances the dancing and the aesthetic, tying together the old with the new. This production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet doesn’t stray far from the traditional but is definitely not stuck in its time either. They have it all: spellbinding traditional technique and captivating seasonal entertainment.

At the end of the Christmas Eve party, night falls, and Clara wanders downstairs to find the mysterious Nutcracker doll under the tree. As the scene changes into a mystical world of dancing dolls and battling rats, oversized baubles are lowered into the stalls, and detailed projections transport you to the inside of the Christmas tree. Instead of finding peaceful magic, she finds herself in an alternate world where she is attacked by her brother’s toys! It’s a really special moment, finished off with a grand entrance by the villain, The Rat King (Miles Gilliver), waving a giant torn flag against a contrasting orange backlight.

Act I ends with an immaculate performance by Yuki Sugiura as the Snow Queen, with the orchestra playing a high-energy Waltz of the Snowflakes. Halfway through the dance, Peter Teigen’s lighting ensures that the snowflakes that fall from the ceiling look like they’re glistening, and this simply enhances the cheer and delicacy of the entire dance, as well as providing a beautiful visual.

Act II is almost cyclical, beginning in a tableau of all toys that will come to life, and when Clara awakes from her magical dream, the dolls return to their beginning positions. It’s clever direction and choreography and brings the intricate worldbuilding to an impressive end before Clara wakes on Christmas morning underneath the tree. The iconic Sugar Plum Fairy dance, performed perfectly by Yaoqian Shang and Riku Ito, is worth seeing in the Albert Hall, especially with the tremendous Royal Ballet Sinfonia offering you a beautiful accompaniment to the magnificent work on stage.

The really special thing about this production is the way the creative team has managed to formulate a conversation on stage through dance by extrapolating the immense feeling that Tchaikovsky’s music conveys anyway. The musicians, dancers, and creatives all work as one, completely in sync in this version of The Nutcracker.