Dance

festive favourite continues to show at Birmingham Hippodrome...

Dance

The Nutcracker Birmingham Hippodrome, until Sat 10 December

Sir Peter Wright’s version of this firm festive favourite returns to the Hippodrome courtesy (of course) of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Created in 1990 as a thank-you to the city for its support of the company following its move to the Midlands from London’s Sadler Wells, Sir Peter’s production is seen by many as the finest interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s magnificent and mesmerising score. In true Christmas spirit, the story follows the young Clara as she’s swept up in a fantasy of soldiers, giant rats, snow fairies, magic and mystery, before finally being transformed into a beautiful ballerina. A magical, must-see show for theatre-going dance lovers everywhere, the production is this year enhanced by a £1million makeover. “More than 80 percent is the same,” explains designer John Macfarlane, “but we’ve been able to make some changes with new fabrics and materials. And the refurbishment has given us the chance to come back to some things and improve them. “The original ideas and production concept evolved very easily, and I remember feeling that there was something quite special about the process. In your career, you can pick out three or four productions that have changed your direction, and you realise you can’t go back to how you did things before. I think that Nutcracker was one of those productions for me. It was a huge learning process - but I didn’t realise it until a long time afterwards. “This is the first time I’ve completely re-built an existing production. What’s really interesting is that you go into it thinking ‘I’m going to change this and I’m going to change that,’ and then, when you actually start to try and do it, you suddenly remember why you did certain things the way you did. “I’m not sure the audience has actually realised how much The Nutcracker has worn over the years - but when they see this rebuild, it will be so vibrant. Everything will be rich and colourful.”