The Nutcracker at the Sheffield Lyceum Review

 The Nutcracker

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

7-11 January 2014

http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/

Reviewed by Jenny Seymour

The Nutcracker performed by the Moscow City Ballet is at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield from 7-11 January 2014. A classic magical tale of love and childhood wonder set at the annual Christmas ball.

What can I say about the Lyceum Theatre – it is a beautiful, classic theatre setting in which to watch a classic ballet. It is always so clean and beautifully presented.

I am actually a novice when it comes to ballet. I had only previously been to see Swan Lake when I was a teenager, so was really looking forward to this performance and what better place to start than with one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballets – the Nutcracker. It’s a shame that this production is on in January, as it is really a Christmas tale, but with Christmas still in our thoughts, it was a lovely evening out that made an otherwise drab January night spectacular.

From the moment we arrived, we were looked after and the staff were really pleasant and informative. We quickly read the synopsis of Act One and took our seats.

I am very glad we did read the synopsis in advance – and I would recommend this! Otherwise, it would be very difficult to understand the characters, particularly the Godfather, Drosselmeyer who changes form throughout this first act from Santa Claus to the magician who makes this story come to life.

Act 1 is where the main plot of the story takes place – Drosselmeyer, Clara’s godfather and a toymaker, makes a surprise appearance at her family’s annual Christmas party bringing toys for all the expectant children. Fritz, Clara’s brother is jealous of her special gift, the Nutcracker and he takes the nutcracker and it breaks. Drosselmeyer fixes it with his magic wand and it comes to life along with a doll and the mouse king. After everyone departs and goes up to bed, Clara stays downstairs with her Godfather and as she sleeps, the magician godfather conjures up more excitement and a battle ensues between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King and his mice. Clara helps the Nutcracker to victory and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince and she into a beautiful princess.

Act 2 is more of an opportunity for the ballerinas to show off their superb and graceful skills. The classic music that you will recognise (everyone’s a fruit and nutcake! And the dance of the sugar plum fairy) and some beautiful tutus and sparkles. Each type of fairy dances their own ballet to rapturous applause and eventually there is a second battle and the Mouse King is finally defeated. When Clara is returned to her living room under the Christmas tree there are simply bunches of flowers in place of the Nutcracker, Doll and Mouse King.

My one criticism, as a novice, was that every now and again the Lyceum stage seemed a little too small as the ballet dancers were leaping across the stage and also, I didn’t know when to applaud – should we applaud the huge breathtaking lifts (ala Strictly Come Dancing) or wait until the end of an Act.

I will certainly be going to the ballet again and thrilled that I got to see the Moscow City Ballet in action – beautiful.

This was a beautiful performance and we really enjoyed our evening. The costumes and set were exquisite and the orchestra were superb. I would recommend a trip to see this amazing ballet company to bring some sparkle back into your life after Christmas!

Please note – the theatre only has an arrangement with the Q Park car park (you get 1 hour free parking) so bear this in mind when parking, as the car park next to the Crucible is quite expensive!

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £19 to £33. For more information or to book tickets click here.