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Personally I've never fully bought into the ballet and dance as high art stuff. It's about entertaining people in various ways and Nutcracker brings thousands to ballet to see a show, most of whom just don't do high art ballet things and want to leave their worries at the door and be cosseted in a magical show, and one not hung up on old sensibilities about how ballet has to be on stage. Why on earth should it be ballet ballet? why can't you play with it and borrow more from theatre and other traditions? I can't think of another ballet that is so much a show and it's right that creators think about those who are coming and giving them fresh views. And now I say '..and certainly there are some very fresh views here'...

Visually ENB's Nut is very busy. Gerald Scarfe has let his mind run riot and there are richly detailed caricatures, hair-dos (think the Simpson's, think Marge) and sets. Personally I'm not so keen on the riot of colours used which seem to clash and jar too much but there is a lot going on and funny touches like having the Snowflakes exit from a large fridge for example work really well. The tree becomes a colossal affair and does grow and grow and grow - when you think it's reached its natural height, it sails on up another storey. I also like it that Clara and Drosselmeyer have a box high up but centre stage in Act 2 and can properly see the Kingdom of Sweets entertainments.

Grandpa (Kevin Richmond) chasing his Girlfriend, Ms V. Aggra (Jane Haworth)
Photograph courtesy of English National Ballet ©

Both Scarfe and Christopher Hampson (the choreographer) have had fun with the characters and the family are gross caricatures with bold acting and clowning at times. Terrific slapstick as Kevin Richmond's randy Grandpa chases his girlfriend with only a zimmer frame for support. Irek Mukhamedov's Drosselmeyer, the magician and entertainer central to the plot, all in black with a sad unseemly 70's Top of the Pops rock band hair-do, looks less impressive than you'd imagine given the boldness of design elsewhere but his acting is so strong and delightfully over-the-top. Many won't be aware of what a great dancer he is (now moving towards the end of his career of course) and yet the audience knew he was the man. At times we were all aching to enter into the spirit of the production and shout "Behind you!".

Underpinning all of this is Christopher Hampson's choreography. It's the Nutcracker, so the first act is primarily the story and social dance that works fine and dandy and includes a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers number and Clara, looking vaguely normal apart from a pink bob wig, floats through it all - my night it was the quintessential ENB Clara - Alice Crawford - and a lovely actress and mover. The battle is very inventive with paratroopers, guns, mouse traps, gas masks and general dottiness.

The Nutcracker and Mouse King in Battle from Christopher Hampson's Nutcracker
Photograph courtesy of English National Ballet ©

The production is very fast paced and while I'm normally waiting for the end of the act to come I got there with a surprise this time. After the Battle things become more dancerly, first with the glorious set piece for the Snowflakes (and Jack Frosts). The stage seems to go on forever as swirls and eddies of dancers move rapidly across - it's a blizzard at times and Hampson's hallmark for using the wings to extend the stage and feed dancers on in ever more inventive ways is there in abundance. And there is ballet ballet too in there.

In the Kingdom of Sweets the Arabian Dance is the best I've seen - for Begona Cao and several ostrich feathers - we smiled and some pulses raced. The Russian Dance had the traditional jumps and arching backs but Irek Mukhamedov joined in with Yet Sang Chang in a kind of bravura display of who could do most in the air. The Bonbons was performed by Elmhurst students and made a great contrast - exciting and surprising for the young bodies. I've always liked Hampson's work for schools and he has rapport with kids - never making them twee.

Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks
as the Prince and Sugar Plum Fairy
in Christopher Hampson's Nutcracker
Photograph courtesy of the ENB Principal Daria Klimentova ©

Erina Takahashi and Dmitri Gruzdyev were the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince and offer a few minutes of ballet ballet at the end. After all the warmth I always ( no matter what the production) find this structured bit of froth somewhat at odds, but the nut would be too different without it and Hampson has speeded it up to more good effect I think.

A good show, not absolute perfection yet and sad that some props were missing in the early part of the run. There are terrific ideas in here guided by thinking entertainment, enjoyment and happiness for those who will see it - it's a ballet show for the nation rather the minority high art that spawned it.