Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! Nottingham Theatre Royal REVIEW

Photo by Simon Annand

It's an out-of-season festive opportunity to crack all those May-gathered nuts this week as Christmas comes early/late to Nottingham's Theatre Royal with Matthew Bourne's version of the perennial favourite Nutcracker.

This interpretation begins in grim and grey austerity with a Dickensian-style orphanage which actually cracks open allowing Clara, the nutcracker prince and the orphans to escape to a snowy wonderland and a darling skating scene. From here, Clara journeys to the bubblegum-pink technicolor Sweetieland, a yummy and scrumptious assortment box of confectionery delights dripping with delectable candy cane, humbug, liquorice allsorts and knickerbocker-glory dancing treats culminating in a three tier ballet cake.

Compared to the groundbreaking wowser-factor of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, his Nutcracker! is pink candyfloss-fluff, cute fun with sweetie-sweet moments and sugar-sprinklings of innovation, but the choreography for the really iconic and infamous parts of the score is well, remarkably unremarkable, these real kid-in-a-candyshop musical opportunites sadly squandered.

Scrummy and lovely to watch with beautiful girls and pretty boys, Nutcracker! is an indulgent sugar-rush dancing dessert that will have you singing Everyone's A Fruit And Nut Case all the way home. Worth going just a little bit nuts for.

Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! is at Nottingham Theatre Royal until May 5. Full details and ticket prices available at www.trch.co.uk