Birmingham Royal Ballet - The Nutcracker, Birmingham: November & December 2021

[Jan McNulty]

I saw 2 performances of the modified RAH production in Birmingham on Tuesday.  Given that the performances started towards the end of November and are now in the final week I must express a modicum of surprise that no-one else has yet commented.

 

The two performances I saw showed the company absolutely at the top of its game with all the dancers invested in them and sparkling.

 

I'm afraid I wasn't a fan of the production and I can't wait to see the real Birmingham production when it comes back next year.

 

What didn't I like:  

 

I absolutely LOATHED the narration and found it totally unnecessary and intrusive - especially at the end.

 

I so missed the growing of the Christmas tree and thought the projections did not work at all within the confines of a traditional proscenium theatre although I expect it would be much more immersive in the Royal Albert Hall.  It made Drosselmeyer's dance to make the tree grow basically just look silly on what was effectively an empty stage.

 

I missed Clara arriving in the Kingdom of the Sweets on the snow-goose although I did actually like her Beauty-and-the-Beast-like flight held aloft by the Winds.

 

The snowflake scene also looked very bare and empty until the snow started falling.

 

I wasn't overly keen on the fact that the tree was in the centre of the stage as I found it detracted a bit from the action around it when the party scene started.

 

I absolutely LOATHED the fact that it was obvious that Fritz decapitated the Nutcracker doll with the sword of his King Rat toy.  Although the depiction was hidden by the other boys I gather that at other performances it hadn't been and looked overly graphic.  To my mind this changes the intent of the actions of Fritz to something really nasty rather than petulant jealousy.  As Fritz got a gorgeous toy rather than a nut it made a bit of a nonsense of what happened anyway.

 

If I'm honest I didn't like the children drafted in as extra rats/mice and scrambling around the stage.  I thought they got in the way of the fight and they were an unnecessary distraction.

 

I thought the prologue was unnecessary.

 

While in the usual Birmingham production it is obvious that Clara becomes Sugar Plum, in this production she sits at the edge of the stage but then Sugar Plum becomes Clara at the end...

 

What I did like:

 

The fact that Clara got a pair of pointe shoes rather than a doll for Christmas.

 

I loved the King Rat doll that Fritz was presented with, even if I didn't like how it was used.

 

I loved the snow projections into the auditorium and the fact that they were left there for the whole of the interval.

 

As I said at the start of this post the company is on wonderful form.

 

The matinee performance saw Rory Mackay as Drosselmeyer with Rachele Pizzillo as Clara, Max Maslen as the Prince and Karla Doorbar as Sugar Plum.  I love Rory's slightly sinister characterisation of Drosselmeyer.  Rachele was a delight as a joyful Clara.  Max Maslen is a beautifully elegant dancer and he and the always glorious Karla Doorbar were breath-taking in the gpdd.  I also greatly enjoyed Reina Fuchigami as the Rose Fairy.

 

The evening performance was a really bobby dazzler of a performance.  Jonathan Payn is a benevolent Drosselmeyer.  Laura Day is utterly sublime as Clara and she looked fabulous with Tzu Chao Chou.  Tzu Chao was scintillating as The Prince and Beatrice Parma may be on the shorter side of tall but she filled the stage with her glorious presence.  The always elegant and serene Yijing Zhang was a beautiful Snow Fairy and Yaoqian Shang was a beautiful Rose Fairy.  It really was a performance to savour and warm the cockles of your heart.

 

It was so good to see BRB and to see them on top form but I can't wait to get back to the proper Birmingham production next year.

 

 

 

[Mary]

What an interesting review Janet. I can imagine the narration could have been grating...how did they do it/who was speaking?

[Jan McNulty]

10 minutes ago, Mary said:

What an interesting review Janet. I can imagine the narration could have been grating...how did they do it/who was speaking?

 

Thanks Mary.  It was recorded by Simon Callow and he spoke with a German accent.

 

I'm sure the production works really well in the Royal Albert Hall but for me it didn't work in the Hippodrome.

[Lindsay]

I agree with you Janet.  I saw this a couple of weeks ago, having not seen the BRB production for at least a decade (although my locally based family goes faithfully every year).  We were really looking forward to it and were very disappointed by the production changes.  Not nearly as 'magic' as it usually is so I didn't just want to write something critical on here.  Agree with you that the dancing was of a very high standard throughout but I think the production will have been a disappointment to many of their 'regular' Nutcracker audience.  Glad to hear that the usual production will be back next year - we didn't know that, I hope that others do!

[Jan McNulty]

29 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

I agree with you Janet.  I saw this a couple of weeks ago, having not seen the BRB production for at least a decade (although my locally based family goes faithfully every year).  We were really looking forward to it and were very disappointed by the production changes.  Not nearly as 'magic' as it usually is so I didn't just want to write something critical on here.  Agree with you that the dancing was of a very high standard throughout but I think the production will have been a disappointment to many of their 'regular' Nutcracker audience.  Glad to hear that the usual production will be back next year - we didn't know that, I hope that others do!

 

Well this one had been advertised as for "one year only" and the tickets are already on sale for next year.  The Big Give challenge for BRB was to get the money to complete the refurb of the proper production.

 

I understand that part of the work being done is to mechanise more of the set changes to make it easier for the technical staff to manage.

[Lindsay]

Interesting - thank you Janet.  I recently discovered that the Australian Ballet's version of the BRB production is on Marquee TV (for anyone who subscribes) and it reminded me of how beautiful the full production is.  Quite my favourite Nutcracker.

[maryrosesatonapin]

I didn't go so was interested to read this account - it sounds like a mixture of excellent dancing and disappointing production decisions.  Re covid transmission - wouldn't a lot of extra children running around on stage just make that worse?

 

@Jan McNulty's mention of snow being projected into the auditorium intrigued me although I can't quite imagine it!

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I didn't go so was interested to read this account - it sounds like a mixture of excellent dancing and disappointing production decisions.  Re covid transmission - wouldn't a lot of extra children running around on stage just make that worse?

 

@Jan McNulty's mention of snow being projected into the auditorium intrigued me although I can't quite imagine it!

 

The short video attached to my post should give you a small indication.  This was from the interval.  From where I was seated it really did look, during the performance, as though it was snowing over the first few rows - very clever digital interpretation!

[maryrosesatonapin]

Oh gosh yes, I see what you mean.  I didn't notice the video at first.  That's really atmospheric!

 

[Odyssey]

I didn’t go as I felt I would be disappointed - the traditional BRB production, particularly the transformation scene,  is as near to perfection for me as I can imagine. However, a friend went and described the experience as being in ‘Nutcracker heaven ‘ . She was fortunate to see the wonderful pairing of Celina Gittens and  Brandon Lawrence, so she was probably right !

[Jan McNulty]

A friend of mine who saw Brandon and Celine said exactly the same thing.

 

My tickets had been carried forward since 2020 so I decided to keep them as I was still feeling the need to see as much as I could.

 

As I said the performances I saw were sparkling but the production wasn't the spectacular one we are all used to.

[northstar]

Thank so much for the review Janet. I've also been to the Hippodrome for this run and was at the evening performance yesterday on Thurs 9th Dec. (Rachele Pizzillo as Clara, Max Maslen as the Prince and Karla Doorbar as Sugar Plum). My first time back since the pandemic! I was intrigued by this production and wondered what people would make of it, I kind of suspected there may be some reservations, since the 'normal' production is so highly regarded - and why try to improve on perfection?

 

I had not known it would be a new production, and came as a complete surprise when it started. And to be honest, for me, it felt an appropriate change, after such a strange and extreme couple of years, for that somehow to be symbolised in a different production.  And with my own ambiguous feelings towards any Nutcracker ballet, I liked that I was seeing something different. Of course I must say when I saw the original BRB Nutcracker production, I thought it was the best I had ever seen.  

 

I liked the gilded neo-classical grandeur of the first act, and although I agree that I don't approve of the narration, I think it did add a slight touch of European 'Tales of Hoffman' atmosphere which I liked. And I actually quite liked, for the most part, the graphics and projections, and found the transformation scene effective, although I acknowledge Janet's points that it is probably is more suited to the Albert Hall. I liked the busyness of the party scenes, they seemed to have an energy and atmosphere which I don't normal notice in other productions. 

 

I was not sure about the second act setting - metallic, spare, fluorescent-lit, but since the dancing was so good it didn't really matter. Some of the graphics were not great (the huge flapping bird - swan? goose? just looked naff I thought).  I didn't like the orchestra above the stage, and I am not sure - but was the music being amplified over microphone/speakers, where the narration/other sound effects were played? I couldn't hear the orchestra tuning up, and there seemed to be a different/synthetic quality to the sound.

 

The dancing was really superb and that's what I expect of BRB of course. I thought Rachele Pizzillo was luminous, commanding, quite exceptional actually. Maslen and Doorbar delivered the splendour of the grand pas de deux to my satisfaction, wonderful. But I find myself once more intrigued the sugar plum fairy, it's such a strange role that is probably one of the hardest in the repertoire to make convincing. I've seen great star ballerinas dance it, and felt it strange and oddly unsatisfying. Doorbar really looks the part and technically sound and had a lovely softness of her movements, and then sharpness when needed. But once more I find myself wondering about this role, what do I want from it?

 

Highlight for me was probably Sofia Liñares as the Rose Fairy, it's a fabulous role and she absolutely nailed it IMO. 

 

So good to be back at the Hippodrome, full audience cheering, orchestra in the same room, not over video (though I'd prefer them in the pit). Thanks again BRB for another wonderful evening. 

 

 

 

[Emeralds]

I travelled to Birmingham when Sir Peter’s production had its first season and it was well worth every minute standing on freezing cold platforms and the every step walked to the Hippodrome on a chilly December day! I remember Miyako Yoshida was Sugar Plum at the performance and Reiko Miura was Clara. Loved every second of the production. I would prefer the Birmingham production to be transferred down to the Royal Albert Hall than for the Albert Hall version to be transferred up to the Hippodrome! I hope that will happen one day (the exact Hippodrome production to visit London)- I really don’t like narration in live performances of Nutcracker. With film/tv/video versions I don’t mind so much. 

[Jan McNulty]

The full production has been put on in London in a traditional theatre - IIRC in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.  I think it was when the Hippo was closed for refurbishment.

 

I also remember seeing it at the O2 Arena but I can’t now remember how the transformations were achieved.

 

The proper production was also once shown at The Lowry.

 

AFAIAA the proper production was not intended to tour as it was SPW’s gift to the City of Birmingham for giving them a home.

[alison]

Geographically close, but it was the Lyceum - just before The Lion King moved in, I presume.

[Jan McNulty]

20 minutes ago, alison said:

Geographically close, but it was the Lyceum - just before The Lion King moved in, I presume.

 

You are quite right Alison - I knew it was around there but just couldn't remember which theatre.

[alison]

I was very aware of it, because I used to work almost opposite

[Emeralds]

Ugh! I missed it when it was down at the Lyceum. I think I had heard about it but couldn’t go due to clashing commitments. Did consider watching it at the O2 for about five minutes but decided not to, as I’d seen RB perform R&J there and while the dancing couldn’t be faulted, I didn’t really like the “sport stadium” type of ambience where people could eat crisps and popcorn loudly and chat if they wished to - actually, not many did, but I still prefer to have a more traditional theatre sort of setting. I enjoyed Deane’s In-the-Round type production of R&J at RAH which seemed to work well as long as you don’t buy the first 5 rows of the stalls- the higher seats in the rows further back or the next two levels up have better sight lines. Anyway, I can always pop back up to Birmingham for Nutcracker in subsequent seasons.  😊

[bangorballetboy]

Sad to hear that the RAH performances scheduled for the end of this month have been postponed to 2022.