Karen Pilkington-Miksa’s New English Ballet Theatre brought its Nutcracker to The Sainsbury Theatre at LAMDA, its first London showing, with all the enthusiasm we have come to expect from this midscale company. Commissioned this year, and its first ever full-length touring production, The Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti has done a great job creating an up-to-date version of this much loved classic, that will be accessible to any audience.
There are plenty of clever twists and touches which meant that at this viewing at least, the pared down cast and minimal sets were not an issue. The Sainsbury Theatre is a very intimate venue so that the dancers and action were in very close proximity. Occasionally I felt as if they were in my own living room and that if I leant forward, the front leg of a jeté might clip my chin, but for the most part ‘up close’ turned out to be rather advantageous.
The Christmas party, hosted by Clara’s parents, included a party entertainer (a Drosselmeyer equivalent) and hypnotist – a clever way to avoid the usual tricks that in smaller venues may have exposed the mechanics. Clara and her brother George were gifted LEGO toys of a nutcracker and a pirate ship, thus there were no rats in the Battle Scene but pirates and soldiers. It all worked surprisingly well.
The Snow Scene was particularly good, apart from the excellent dancing on offer, Zucchetti has devised an ensemble piece that not only challenges the company technically but manages to weave intricate patterns, using Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score to the full. Act 2, set in The Land of Imagination, was similarly intelligent in referencing the gifts that the adult guests had been given at the party: castanets, a coffee pot, Russian hats and champagne, which made complete sense of the divertissements.
It’s a very fine looking production with attractive and effective backdrops (a team effort, I believe) and some beautiful costume designs by Lisa James, Pilkington-Miksa, Zucchetti and Emily Bridge. Joshie Harriette has worked his magic with the lighting throughout, bringing atmosphere to each scene.
One gripe regarding the rather clunky cutting of the recording of the music. For anyone familiar with the score, there were some clumsy and really grating edits. Blasted out on a sound system that seemed to emphasise the cuts due to the volume, it was unfortunate, to say the least.
Being close enough to the dancers to see their sweat and hear each breath must inevitably have been a tad nerve racking for them. The reality was that if they felt under scrutiny, this was not the vibe they presented. Far from it, they looked as if they were having the party of the year, the snow storm of the season and in Act 2, the dream of a lifetime.
Louis DeFelice played the eccentric party entertainer with charm rather than quirkiness but was nevertheless very persuasive. Marcos Silva was a high spirited George/Lead Pirate with a larger than life personality and a jump that matched it. All the supporting artists were worthy of mention but in particular, Leila Wright and Nicholas Isiah King Rose, slunk serenely through the Coffee Pot divertissement and Silva, once again, together with Shynngys Tolegen exploded with energy and sheer athleticism in the Russian Hats duet.
The leading roles of Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker/Prince were danced by guest artists Liudmila Konovalova and Luca De-Poli. Both experienced dancers and accomplished technicians, his strength was in his partnering skills which were exemplary. She has lovely lines and strong turns but neither really engaged, either with the audience or each other. In terms of interpretation, I struggled to understand what they were aiming for.
The real star of the performance was Audrey Nelson doubling up as the Snow Queen and the Flower Queen, her polished technique overshadowed only by her natural ebullience and charm. She lit up the stage with every step she took and made it all look effortless.
As a whole, NEBT has a wonderful addition to its repertoire which I’m sure will see numerous casts develop and delight.
