David Nixon on The Nutcracker
November 13, 2008
David Nixon is convinced that Northern Ballet Theatre chose the ideal time to produce The Nutcracker. “The Nutcracker is a celebration of classical ballet technique,” reasons the company’s artistic director. “The technical ability of our dancers has evolved and we possess a company that makes this production something really special.” Moreover, Tchaikovsky’s 1892 staple harmonises with the current bent of NBT’s material. “We are also keen to build a strong repertoire of family productions that NBT can perform at Christmas each year,” Nixon says, “and The Nutcracker fits perfectly alongside ballets such as A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan.”
Indeed, Nixon ascribes work’s attraction partly to its seasonal stature. “The tradition of The Nutcracker at Christmas is tremendously strong; the sense of families sharing Christmas time contributes greatly to its popularity,” he remarks.
However, Nixon’s Nutcracker, which debuted at Manchester’s Palace Theatre last year in October and closes its 2008 tour with performances at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House between 17th and 31st December, punctures the conventional template in one important respect. “I have set my version in the Regency period,” he says, before highlighting that this was “the time at which ETA Hoffman wrote his story ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouseking’, on which the ballet is based.”
The setting has manifest advantages for costumes. The demeanour of the cavalry and infantry characters is, Nixon notes, “inspired by the military of the time”. However, in rendering it, Nixon and designer Charles Cusick Smith have shown studious sensitivity to historical details. “There was also a strong presence of Orientalism in art and architecture in England,” he continues, “which is evident in Charles Cusick Smith’s beautiful sets, as well as in some of the choreography and costumes.”
Similarly, the set and costumes display precision in another sense. “In the production we clearly distinguish between the real world of Clara Edwards and her family with her imaginary dream world. The colours in the sets and costumes for the real world are in pale pastels whereas the imaginary world is vibrant and bold,” explains Nixon. He is confident, it would seem, that these qualities bolster rather than disturb The Nutcracker’s festive splendour. “People like to return to The Nutcracker because it reminds them of childhood,” he says, “and that magical time when your dreams can become reality.”
-Simon Walker
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