The Cardiff Christmas Festival Spiegeltent at Cardiff Castle has been widely advertised and hotly anticipated. As you enter, it’s easy to see why. Moving from the cold air of modern Cardiff to the warm atmosphere of the 1920s-inspired interior is, frankly, magical. It seems like the perfect venue to experience Christmas favourite, The Nutcracker. However, this particular venue and show combination left much to be desired.
To understand the difficulties I had with the production, it is helpful to understand its origins. First debuting in 2021, The Nutcracker (The Christmas Ballet With A Welsh Twist) – to give it its full title – was developed for Rubicon Dance’s graduate company by Scottish Ballet’s Jamiel Laurence. The show was originally designed for a much larger stage and in service of showcasing the dance school’s emerging talent.
Here is my first main issue: the Cardiff Christmas Festival production was neither particularly a ballet, nor (outside of a few duets) did it have anything to do with the story of The Nutcracker. I am not a ballet purist: I am a lover of Matthew Bourne’s work and productions which flex the rules such as Northern Ballet’s 1984. However, if I have come to see what is advertised as a ballet, I would like the majority of what I watch to be, at least, ballet-adjacent.
The first portion of the show is mainly rhythmic mime to swing jazz, with the characters flamboyantly entering, greeting each other, exchanging presents and arguing, broken up by leaps and twists which continue as the magician, Uncle Idris, enters. There’s an interlude for some brief jazz sequences; it all feels incredibly long, and – given it features neither Tchaikovsky’s music or ballet – not really what anyone has paid to see.
The action then ramps up, with The Nutcracker apparently trapped in the body of a Mari Lwyd, begging others to free him while they cower in terror. This is slightly more balletic – but still not The Nutcracker. There are no battles with rats or sugar plum fairies. There is a Mari Lwyd, a snowstorm, and a variety show.
The stage is clearly too small for the dancers to feel comfortable: they seem understandably afraid to fully commit to movements, for fear of falling off or kicking audience members’ heads. It begs the question of why this ballet was chosen for this venue: when neither the adapted choreography nor the performances feel secure, there must be a middle ground to found.
Praiseworthy content comes in the first act’s latter half with the stunning snowflakes choreography: dynamic, expressive, and immersive, it shows the dancers at their best. Constant Vigier and Luke Bafico contribute standout performances throughout the show – bold and committed, both performers monopolise the space to the best of their ability and are a joy to watch.
Yet neither this short section nor the whole ensemble’s talent can rescue Cardiff Christmas Festival’s take on The Nutcracker. The final nail in the coffin is its second half: many audience members didn’t return for it, but many who did were evidently and reasonably confused. Rather than the expected magical jaunt to another world set up by both the end of Act 1 (and the original ballet’s narrative), we get The Uncle Idris Show, in which family members from the opening section do music hall-style set-pieces. Aside from some of Uncle Idris’ numbers and the pas de deux between Carys and the Nutcracker, most of this is jazz or music hall dance.
The evocative, skilful and fluid movements of Cameron Everitt and Chloe Davies’ sensual duet is a particular standout in this section (and gets an honourable mention for making one mother on Seetickets “seriously question [the show’s] suitability for children”). Their contribution does not, however, improve the muddled and unfocused energy of the second act. Bitty, irrelevant to the central plot, and with poor attempts at humour, it feels less like a ballet or a music hall show, and more like an A-Level dance practical.
So, as I say, not Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, or a ballet. And it is unclear, outside of an extraneous Mari Lwyd and a shift to Welsh character names in the programme, what exactly is Welsh about it either. Gary Raymond recently wrote a piece for Wales Arts Review on the domestic fear of challenging Welsh art; the absolute terror for creatives and critics alike when it comes to saying anything someone’s done is less than good. Perhaps that is what gives this ballet its Welsh twist: its absolute tolerance of mediocrity.
The Nutcracker (The Christmas Ballet With A Welsh Twist), Cardiff Christmas Festival, Cardiff Castle, Sat 26 Nov. Info: here.
words HARI BERROW
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