The Nutcracker - Northern Ballet Theatre

Milton Keynes Theatre
25 November 2008

A cracking evening from NBT!

I don’t think you can beat seeing The Nutcracker around Christmas and I found the Northern Ballet Theatre’s production to be a wonderful start to the season, before having to launch myself into pantomime heaven – or is it hell?!

I’ve always loved Tchaikovsky’s ballet music and, as a homage, walked down the aisle to the Soldiers’ March from The Nutcracker so, for the second time in a just over a month, the MK Theatre played host to some of my wedding music (see Carousel below!) I was a thrown a bit when the Soldiers’ March wasn’t done by the soldiers, but incorporated into the Christmas Eve party instead but, as we seemed to get a lot more of it, I was more than happy with that!

The unforgettable Tchaikovsky score is of course the highlight of the evening, but it was all imaginatively interpreted and slickly executed by this popular company. I particularly enjoyed the Mouse King's battle and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, accompanied by dances from other countries including China, Spain, Arabia and Russia.

Done well, the whole piece has a dream-like quality and should convey a feeling of utter escapism and in this, the NBT doesn’t disappoint!

Now, you’ll hate me for this cliché but, on what was a very cold night, I left the theatre feeling very warm-hearted as The Nutcracker once again worked its magic on me!