Thursday 18th December 2025 at York Grand Theatre
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Northern Ballet are bringing festive cheer aplenty with their production of the classic The Nutcracker. Following the story of Clara, a little girl with a very big imagination, the story tells of her whirlwind dreams the night before Christmas (sparked, of course, by the gift of a Nutcracker doll). Filled to the brim with Christmassy charm and magic, this tale of childhood imagination and wonder is a must-see.
With the iconic music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Orchestration: John Longstaff; Conductor: Yi Wei) at the helm, the show is filled with the tinkling sounds of magic and that thrilling building propulsion needed for the dainty dancing feet of fairies. I’m still relatively new to the world of ballet and it remains a real thrill to hear such iconic music live and to appreciate it alongside heart-warming narratives (and with a rare live orchestra too – hallelujah!).
Rachael Gillespie is Clara and she is perfectly cast as the bright-eyed, excited child gliding her way through a weird and wonderful unknown world. She’s joined by Harris Beattie as the Nutcracker Prince who comes to life, and the pair create real magic with their sequences. And speaking of magical pairings, Saeka Shirai and Jonathan Hanks are wonderful both as soloists and together as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.
Clara’s imagination isn’t all fairies and stardust though, there are some fantastic moments with toys coming to life (phenomenal to watch such skilful movement) and there’s a stand-off to navigate in an entertaining sequence of opposing forces. The Mouse King is given endearing cheekiness by Bruno Serraclara and Harry Skoupas shows real relish as Uncle Drosselmeyer who is responsible for all the wonderful imaginings playing out for Clara.
Direction, choreography, costume design and scenario from David Nixon, CBE are superb. Costume designs are beautiful, naturally, and add yet more layers of visual spectacle, while movement sings and overall vision is colourful and seamless. Meanwhile, set design from Charles Cusick Smith towers beautifully around our characters, reminding us not only of the grandeur of Christmas but also the wonderment of childhood at this time of year.
As far as theatre for the festive season goes, The Nutcracker remains a wonderful classic – if you can get along to see this Northern Ballet production, do!
The Nutcracker is at Leeds Grand Theatre until January 4th 2026 – more information and tickets can be found here.
Always Time For Theatre 
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