Modern take on beloved classic truly enthralling

THE festive season arrived early for Regent Theatre audiences at the weekend with the RNZB delighting with The Nutcracker.

It’s Christmas Eve and the Stahlbaum family receive a mysterious guest in Herr Drosselmeier, complete with gifts for the many children in attendance; and that’s when the magic happens.

The story of Marie Stahlbaum (Clara) and her nutcracker doll is adored by audiences worldwide.

However, this production from choreographer Val Caniparoli and artistic director Patricia Barker sees some modern and Kiwiana twists with the narration, lighting and costuming, which is a welcome update on a very traditional and classical ballet.

From wishing her nutcracker doll to become a reallife prince, to battles between the Mouse King’s army and the Nutcracker forces, to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy and delicious treats, this ballet immerses the viewer in a world that is beautiful, wondrous and utterly magical.

Marie Varlet as Marie, almost dolllike herself, is delightful in her portrayal, while younger brother Fritz (Matthieu Rigter) is the scenestealing comic of act 1.

Loughlan Prior as Drosselmeier owns his mysterious allure throughout, and Shaun James Kelly as the Nutcracker Prince was a joy to watch — his partnering with Varlet was perfect.

Sara Garbowski’s Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier (Alexandre Ferreira) transported us to a heady concoction of the many confections in the world of spun sugar; this is always a highly anticipated section of act 2.

The international flavour was beautifully expressed without the dated cliches of past renditions of this ballet, particularly Chinese Tea (Laurynas Vejalis) — the lion dance was a lovely addition.

The Spanish Chocolate four were definite standouts, as was Nadia Yanowsky as Dewdrop, and the Russian Caviar never disappoint with their agility and energy.

The nod to Kiwiana with the ‘‘Waltz of the Flowers’’ as pohutukawa flowers was a glorious vision of red loveliness.

The gaspworthy snow scenes were simply gorgeous and really immersed the viewer into this magical world, and the lighting by Jon Buswell was sublime — the opening scenes exposed us to otherwise closed houses and the old timepieces moving across the stage scenes was inspired.

This modern take on a beloved classic is fresh and needs to be seen — to reiterate, it is beautiful, wondrous and utterly magical.