Review: English National Ballet’s Nutcracker, Mayflower, Southampton
There is no more Christmassy ballet than Nutcracker, and English National Ballet has quite the pedigree in stunningly varied performances of Tchaikovksy’s masterpiece over the past 70 years.
This latest version, quite unsurprisingly, is another sumptuous feast for the eyes and ears, and thankfully accompanied by the tightest of live orchestral deliveries, after Northern Ballet’s controversial decision to bung on a CD for their recent tour of Romeo & Juliet.
We open in the workshop of Drosselmeyer, performed with absolute gusto by Junor Souza, and meet his four assistants, whose vampiric appearance is akin to the unholy union of Bill Nighy and an Oompa Loompa.
After a little bit of magic, sprinkled across the exceptional set thanks to some impressive projection work, the energetic toymaker and his emaciated chums pop downstairs to his sweetshop where the adventure for Clara and the magical Nutcracker begins.
This prologue is an incredibly colourful romp through an Edwardian street setting, complete with suffragettes, pickpockets and sweet merchants, as the Stahlbaums stock up for their showy Christmas Eve bash; young Clara gives no small hint to Drosselmeyer that she’s fond of the Nutcracker he has created.
She gets her wish in act one as the Stahlbaums party rolls into full swing. Again the set pieces are masterful, and Rhys Yeomans – as the Nutcracker who comes to life – throws more energy into his moves than is surely recommended given the giant mask restricting his vision.
The house turns into a battleground after Clara awakens at midnight, again the projections of rats and magical interludes are displayed against the set superbly as the now-lifesized Nutcracker and the Rat King scuffle.
The now demasked Nutcracker Prince (Francesco Fola) falls for Clara, now thankfully fully grown (Ivana Bueno), and the pair spectacularly ride off into the theatre’s rafters on their seahorse-pulled chariot.
The second act consists less of the story but far more spectacular dancing, as the Land of Sweets and Delights reveals its variety box of sugary treats.
All were absolute top-class, with spinning black-and-white whirls of Makivnyk, and the Sahlab trio with their cinnamon-stick hats. But the crowd favourites were without doubt the liquorice allsorts – young ballerinas wedged into familiar Bassetts-inspired tutus which elicited a chorus of ‘aaah’s on their arrival.
ENB has again pulled out all the stops with a sensational retelling of this festive classic. It has now finished its short stint at the Mayflower, but moves on to the London Coliseum until 19th December.
