There are few festive tales more beloved than The Nutcracker, and this year the story gets a fresh twist at Polka theatre (in a co-production with Olivier award-winners Little Bulb). There’s not a pointe shoe in sight in this fun family show for ages 5-12. Instead, the panto-influenced production features squabbling siblings, toilet troubles and a quintet of rodents squeaking cheesy Christmas tunes.
It’s Christmas Eve but Clara (Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens) and her brother, Fritz (Dominic Conway) are far from ready to wrap presents. Instead, they’ve boxed up their worldly belongings and are busy unloading them in a new home. A world away from the lavish household you might expect to visit in this traditional tale, their house is dark, dusty and suffering from a serious plumbing problem. Dad (Shamira Turner) is putting a brave face on things but he has an endless to-do list and the last thing he needs is an unexpected house guest.
Aunty Drosselmeyer (Caroline Partridge) is here to instill some Christmas spirit into this grieving family but her plan backfires when Clara and Fritz fight over their new nutcracker toy, breaking it into pieces. With everyone else off to bed, Clara painstakingly pieces the doll back together. But she soon finds herself in a bigger predicament, as she’s magically shrunk to the size of a mouse and captured by the evil, multi-headed Mouse King (Clare Beresford). Luckily Fritz follows suit and the pair embark on mission to salvage Christmas, with a little help from a room full of mice. (Obligatory audience participation – tick!)
The story is narrated by the lead singer of The Mousey Five, who serenade us pre-show and (spoiler alert) also turn out to be integral to the plot. Loosely based on the Christmas classic, it’s a fun and ultimately uplifting story featuring themes of loss, family and belonging (playfully touching on these issues without bashing the audience over the head with profound messaging at the expense of entertainment).
It’s a pacy production, running at around 80 minutes including an interval. This absolutely whizzes by and easily holds the attention of the enthusiastic youngsters in the audience. It would almost certainly work fine running straight through without the break but that would remove the prospect of interval ice cream, and where’s the joy in that?!
Speaking of joy, Sam Wilde’s set and costume designs are a joy to behold. As ever, cardboard features heavily here, with moving boxes magically transforming into increasingly intricate creations (although the highlight for many will undoubtedly be a giant turd that gets sliced by the Sword of Justice). The costume design is also inspired – particularly the Mouse King’s underpants / fur coat combo! Clare Beresford is excellent in this role, showcasing both a flair for comedy and some impressive singing skills.
Overall, The Nutcracker is a brie-lliant production that offers entertainment for all ages. Full of festive fun, it’s a refreshingly nutty take on a classic tale and a cracking alternative to panto.
The Nutcracker plays at Polka Theatre from 16 November 2024 to 26 January 2025. We received complimentary tickets to the press performance on 24 November.