***** (5 stars)
“A wonderful winter warmer!”
Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana is the perfect antidote to the winter blues, and a packed Festival Theatre was loud in its appreciation both during and at the end of last night’s performance. Rhythm, passion, fire and fun infused a sunny, joyful celebration of simply being alive.
The basic Nutcracker story was all there – the Christmas celebration; Clara’s nutcracker doll – broken by her brother Fritz, who believes his sole purpose in life is to torment his sister, and mended by the magician Drosselmeyer; the midnight fight between rats and soldiers, brought to an end by Clara; her reward when the nutcracker, now a handsome prince, takes her to the magical Kingdom of Sweets, where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy and is entertained by a series of dances.
So often Nutcracker can simply be an almost sickly-sweet confection danced by talented but slightly unreal and generally white dancers. [I must say that Scottish Opera certainly don’t come into this category, but are very much alive!]
Carlos Acosta, by moving the setting to Havana, and using his own childhood experience of growing up in a humble Cuban home in a country where the celebration of Christmas was illegal, has produced a lively, energetic celebration of both the Christmas spirit and the sheer joy of dancing.
A very meagre Christmas celebration is underway when suddenly Tio [uncle] Elias appears in his classic Chevrolet Corvette. He brings three life-sized dolls with him – two of the many Yoruba gods, Changò and Oshùn, and a Tin Soldier. With a wave of his hands, the humble hut and sparse decorations are changed into a mansion with glittering ornaments on a suddenly taller tree. The dolls dance, the families dance; there is a wonderful clog dance, with everyone wearing [or in one case continually losing] chancletas; a maypole’s ribbons come down from the ceiling and are joyfully woven and unwoven.
Peace returns as everyone goes to bed: but life-sized rats emerge and are engaged in battle by Mambises, soldiers who fought to free Cuba from the Spanish. Clara appears when things are looking desperate, and despatches the Rat King. The Nutcracker transforms into a handsome Prince, and dances with Clara. Snowflakes appear and dance round them: as snow falls, Tio Elias appears with his car and takes Clara and the Prince for a magical ride.
Clara, the Prince, and Tio Elias are in the Kingdom of Sweets, where cooks present a dazzling display of confectionery for their delight. They are welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy, and under Tio Elias’ direction a succession of dancers entertain Clara – who is so delighted that at times she can’t resist joining in with the dancing, and is very reluctant to go back to her seat.
All good things must come to an end, and Clara is taken home, falling asleep clutching her nutcracker doll, where her family find her and lead her back to her bed… was it all a dream???
The Cuban flavour didn’t only colour the action, but infused and energised Tchaikovsky’s already wonderful score. Some of the music was presented more or less ‘straight’, simply with more exotic orchestration: some of it was really boogied up, and infectiously – at one point I really, really wanted to get up and join the dancing. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in this! Pepe Gavrilondo and Yasel Muñoz have created a singularly uplifting and energising score which I’d love to hear again and have on tap for when I’m feeling blue. I defy anyone to feel down if they could dance around to this engaging and appealing treatment of the Nutcracker score. Yunet Uranga’s costumes were a wonderful mix of ‘everyday’ and ‘wow! spectacular!’ with a special shoutout for the Arabian, Chinese and Russian dancers’ costumes.
The dancers were all brilliant – even one small Oops! moment was gone in a flash, making me wonder if I’d dreamed it. Thalia Cardin lit up the stage as Clara [reminding me a bit of Emma Raducanu when she’s really glowing with happiness]. Alexander Varona was an impressively magical Tio Elias, taking delight in his own cleverness while also bringing joy to everyone else. Most of the rest of the amazingly talented cast were double- treble- and even quadruple-cast, and it was lovely to see that members of the Acosta Advanced Training Hub in Woolwich were on stage in a couple of the large group numbers – what a joy and privilege to take part in such a vibrant and joyful production!
Applause and cheers were loud and prolonged not just at the final curtain but throughout the performance as the packed house showed its appreciation of the talent displayed for them. I’m sure many of the audience were experienced balletomanes, but I’m hoping that a large proportion were people who’d never seen live ballet before. My, what a treat for them, which I hope will lead them to come to more ballets and discover a box of delights which is not just for Christmas.
Thank you, Carlos Acosta, for devising this sparkling production, and for bringing it to a dismally dreich Edinburgh last night.
Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, runs until Wednesday 4th February for more information and tickets go to: https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/nutcracker-in-havana/
The Production completes its current UK Tour at the Theatre Royal Norwich from 10th to 11th February.
ScotsGay Arts 