THE NUTCRACKER (BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/event/the-nutcracker-at-the-rep-online#dates-and-times

Available until: 24th December, 11.59pm.

The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker is really beautiful. It follows the story I know, but it makes many dramatic decisions which I wasn’t expecting but which work really well.

First of all Clara is centre stage as the main female character. This seems right as it is more her story than the Sugar Plum Fairy’s. The rivalry between the Nutcracker and the Rat King becomes a running theme which gives the story more continuity. When Clara is given the Nutcracker doll, Fritz is given a Rat King doll. The two toys have a play fight as one of Clara and Fritz’s games. That sets the scene for the fight later and it’s possible that isn’t the last we see of the Rat King.

The first act is really lovely. The designs, which are based on John Macfarlane’s original designs, are full of colour and I like the way the characters are brought out so strongly. Gus Payne plays the Nutcracker Doll, who has his own piece of choreography, though he doesn’t play the Prince. The choreography is really impressive, but there is something mechanical about it which shows the Nutcracker is a toy. Even the first act is full of magic.

The second act is usually the colourful one but the stage is slightly darker in this production. It’s like Clara has gone to a new and magical world, but there are question marks over whether it’s a good world. There is definitely badness there. It’s not just about Clara having a wonderful time. The choreography is very varied in style. Some dances are unbelievably beautiful and others are full of fun.

Karla Doorbar is a very sweet Clara who looks young and dances really beautifully. She seems really nice and very imaginative. She has a dancing partner in Act 1 (Max Maslen) and they’re good together but there is obviously a bigger connection between her and César Morales’ very elegant and far from mechanical Prince. Momoko Hirata is very beautiful and she does well to convey a sense of aloofness in the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Drosselmeyer has a bigger role than usual and Jonathan Payn makes him quite flamboyant, but he also seems completely in control. Eilis Small and Valentin Olovyannikov give Clara’s parents strong personalities and Ben Whittaker-Brown is a very good Fritz – he’s a child and he doesn’t have elaborate routines, but he does move very well. Alexander Yap gives a sense of danger as the Rat King.