Bourne pulls a cracker

It was having a crack at The Nutcracker ten years ago that set Matthew Bourne on his glorious voyage of ballet reinvention, including his unforgettable male corps spin on Swan Lake, so it’s no surprise he’s seized the chance to lavishly rework one of the keynote works in his career.

His Nutcracker! will be instantly recognisable to ballet fans familiar (over familiar?) with the Christmas favourite, but Bourne laces his glittering confection with the trademark wit and sly humour that’s become his trademark. As sassy Liquorice Allsorts, yobby Gobstoppers and, best of all, a seductively narcissistic Knickerbocker Glory (Arthur Pita, in a scene-stealing turn) take the stage, it’s like watching a selection box
sparkle into life.

Not so much a choreographer as a master movement manipulator, Bourne marshals his peppy young cast with dazzling precision. And he’s got a drop-dead gorgeous canvas to work with: designer Anthony Ward bathes us in edible pink and tasty turquoise, creating a fabulous Busby Berkeley-style cake, all true
to the idea of cooking up a spectacle that looks good enough to eat.

What Bourne and co-devisor Martin Duncan can’t quite do, and it’s defeated
pretty much everyone, is give the Nutcracker a story that makes any kind of
sense. But with Tchaikovsky’s greatest tunes sparking Bourne’s feathery flights of imagination, you scarcely notice. A top festive spectacle that kids will relish — and that won’t crack Dad’s nuts.

Until Jan 25, Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue EC1, Tue to Sat (except Dec 24 and 25) 7.30pm, Sun 5pm, Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm, £8 to £45. Tel: 020 7863 8000. www.sadlerswells.com

Tube: Angel

Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker!