Review: Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! at The Lowry

Image credit: Johan Persson

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

New Adventures have been performing their stunning production of Nutcracker! for almost 3 decades. Popular, magical and fun for all ages, this beloved and delectable show returns for 2021. Still as charming as ever, set to Tchaikovsy’s profound and glorious musical score, Matthew Bourne’s sensational choreography has been refreshed and Anthony Ward’s iconic design has been revamped for the show’s 30th anniversary year. 

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is a sweet pick n mix of joy. 

The perfect theatrical Christmas tradition, Nutcracker is often the first ballet that many people see. Taking the bones of the much-loved story, Matthew Bourne delivers a Nutcracker for a modern day audience. Starting out in a gloomy Dickensian orphanage at Christmas time, the show rejects the lavish, privileged atmosphere of the present-filled family Christmas party that usually opens the classical ballet. And a simple coming-of-age story unfolds – the beautiful and fantastical tale is told through the dreams of one particular young orphan, Clara (Cordelia Braithwaite). 

With a monochrome, Burtonesque design, the orphans live miserably under the rule of Dr and Mrs Dross (Neil Westmorland and Stephanie Billers) and their brattish children, Fritz (Dominic North) and Sugar (Ashley Shaw)…until the Nutcracker (Harrison Dowzell), depicted as a ventriloquist’s dummy, springs to life leading Clara and the audience on a magical journey over the shimmering Frozen Lake and into the technicolour explosion of Sweetieland. 

Image credit: Johan Persson

Dreamlike and a real visual feast, slick choreography simulates ice-dancing as the orphans escape the orphanage. While, a tender pas de deux between Clara and the Nutcracker leads the audience sweetly into the interval. 

Passionate, original and witty, productions like this really lift the heart.

Act two brings a full sugary assault of the senses. Vivid and mischievous, Clara’s arrival in Sweetieland introduces an array of colourful and expressive characters: liquorice allsorts, feathery marshmallows, a Humbug-turned-doorman and a sticky Knickerbocker Glory all feature in this lip-smackingly brilliant production. 

Passionate, original and witty, productions like this really lift the heart. Tchaikovsky’s spectacular score featuring the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ and ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ offers the perfect storytelling canvas for Bourne’s captivating choreography. Dancers deliver with precision and grace – every detail adding a fresh dimension to this well-loved story. A ballet for families of all ages – brought bang-up-to-date for a modern audience – Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is a sweet pick n mix of joy. 

-Kristy Stott

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! runs at The Lowry until 4 December 2021.