Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is a breathtakingly gorgeous feast for the senses, and very likely to leave you feeling hungry for something sweet!

A story about growing up and first love, something to which we can all relate, it brilliantly combines Bourne’s awesome choreography with Tchaikovsky’s glorious and familiar score and Anthony Ward’s spectacular sets and costumes. The outcome is a charming if slightly madcap interpretation of a much-loved classic - one on which Bourne has put a ‘1930s Hollywood musicals’ spin.

The show sees the grand Christmas party of the original ballet replaced by the darker, monochrome world of an orphanage. A bleak and terrible place, one in which even the children’s Christmas presents are taken away from them, the grim institution is home to a little girl named Clara - the heroine, of course, of The Nutcracker.

By the time the orphanage transforms into a beautiful, silvery-white expanse of frozen lake at the end of act one and Clara’s adventure begins, we are happy indeed to be joining her on her journey, relieved to be away from the sheer dreadfulness of her everyday life. And it is here, in the transformation, that Bourne’s version of the story scores a direct hit. The contrast between Clara’s two worlds - before and after the transformation - is so much starker and therefore more effective in Nutcracker! than in the original ballet, where, in journeying to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, she leaves behind her the extravagance of a lavish Christmas party. How very much more magical the fantasy land in the second act seems to be when compared not to a grand festive-season celebration - itself a fantasy land of sorts - but rather to the misery of life in the orphanage. 

And Clara’s amazing journey - through the shimmering winter wonderland of the Land of Snow, to the technicolour explosion of Sweetieland - really is something to behold, assaulting the senses in a uniquely delicious way.

My friend and I were delighted by the production from start to finish. We loved the blend of ballet, contemporary and musical theatre and how seamless the set changes were. We laughed out loud, especially at the antics of the boisterous gobstoppers, and thought the cupids brought great comedy and fun to proceedings. We loved the dancers’ facial expressions, too, not to mention their engagement with the audience, breaking the fourth wall in order to make us feel included and involved in their on-stage adventures.

Originated in 1992, Nutcracker! is the show that kickstarted Matthew Bourne’s stellar career. Within three years of its premiere, he had taken the dance world by storm with his male swan ensemble. Subsequent projects have proved equally stunning. So it says much about Bourne’s innate ability to produce shows which charm, delight and downright sparkle that this 30-year-old early-career offering - impressively reworked and upgraded for the current tour - can still more than hold its own with the very best of them. 

Five stars.

Reviewed by Sue Hull at Birmingham Hippodrome where Matthew Bourne's The Nutcracker continues to show until Saturday 12 February.