There is something incredibly Christmassy about going to the ballet, especially when it's a production of the Nutcracker. This particular ballet has been a tradition for many families and has one of the most recognisable scores.
Theatre Royal is hosting the Northern Ballet's production of the Nutcracker which is perfectly timed in the run-up to Christmas. The show runs until Saturday, November 19.
I've grown up with ballet as my mother would take me as a child and I've repaid the favour by taking her as an adult. As a result, I've been lucky to see wonderful productions of the Nutcracker including Matthew Bourne's show last year also at Theatre Royal.
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I was excited to see the Northern Ballet's exciting production which has returned to stages across the UK this winter including the show in Nottingham. As it turned out, I'm not the only one who loves a bit of Christmas ballet as the show was absolutely packed with not one empty seat.
The Nutcracker opened with a festive party where Clara is given a new Nutcracker doll to play with. However, when the clock strikes midnight, the doll comes to life and takes Clara on a magical adventure. All of this set to Tchaikovsky’s instantly recognisable score was played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia.
There was a hilarious, and very cute, battle between the wily Mouse King and the Nutcracker doll and Clara. The crowd absolutely loved the addition of the young dancers in adorable mouse costumes complete with tails. The Nutcracker doll costumes were exceptional and it must have been incredibly hard to move in the oversized head, yet it looked effortless. The dancers were choreographed by David Nixon CBE.
While I may have been to the ballet before, this was my partner's first experience of any production. I was delighted to see them being swept up in the story and enjoying the magic of it.
All of the dancers were incredible to watch as they made the most complicated of moves seem graceful and effortless. However, I really enjoyed watching the dancer playing Uncle Drosselmeyer, Clara's mysterious uncle who leads her through her adventure. His dancing, acting and cloak-swishing were a joy to watch.
As always with Theatre Royal productions, the set design was incredible and moved seamlessly without fault. The sets helped to create a magical winter wonderland that really meant we could escape into another world. Let's face it, we could all do with a bit of escapism at the moment so it felt comforting to be able to let our imaginations run wild, especially as we sneaked a second red wine during the interval.
The time genuinely flew by as we watched the show and it felt a bit of a shock to have to head back out into the city centre in the rain. The ballet offered the perfect combination of escapism, adventure and Christmas cheer to get us in the mood for the upcoming season.
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