Drew McOnie’s jazz adaptation of The Nutcracker to run in new venue at the Southbank Centre

Underbelly, Francesca Moody Productions, and Southbank Centre, in partnership with Rachel Edwards and Winkler Smalberg, have unveiled plans for the world premiere production of the McOnie Company’s Nutcracker.

The production, directed and choreographed by multi-award-winner Drew McOnie, will see Tchaikovsky’s iconic score reimagined for an on-stage jazz band by Cassie Kinoshi, a multi-award-winning jazz artist.

The Tuff Nutt Jazz Club, a bespoke music and performance space at the Southbank Centre, will play host to the festivities. After each performance, patrons are invited to remain at the club, where live sessions from leading music artists will continue into the night.

The co-composers of Nutcracker are Cassie Kinoshi and Rio Kai. The venue and set design come courtesy of Soutra Gilmour, while Ryan Dawson Laight oversees costume design. Music supervision is in the hands of Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, with Joshie Hariette as the lighting designer and Simon Baker as the sound designer. Will Burton CDG takes on the casting.

The cast includes Amonik Melaco as Action Man, Sam Salter as Clive, and Patricia Zhou as Sugarplum. Additional performers include Chanelle Anthony, Christie Crosson, Tim Hodges, Lukas Hunt, and Rachel Muldoon.

Nutcracker opens at the Tuff Nutt Jazz Club at the Southbank Centre on November 4, 2023, running through January 6, 2024, with previews starting on October 28, 2023. General booking will commence on Wednesday, September 6, and advance tickets are available.

Drew McOnie, artistic director of The McOnie Company, expressed his excitement, stating: “Creating a jazz adaptation of the Nutcracker for my own company is exactly the sort of wild impossible thing I would daydream about constantly as a young boy. I spent hours devising colourful worlds in my head where great theatre dancers and great musicians would tell stories that made me feel like I belonged somewhere. It’s my desire to fill this Nutcracker with heaps of that childlike wonder but with the added free spirited mischief we all crave at Christmas time. To be creating this production with such an exceptional group of artists is truly thrilling and I cannot wait to introduce this Nutcracker to you… an old friend you are about to meet for the first time”.

Mark Ball, artistic director of Southbank Centre, echoed the sentiment, highlighting the collaborative effort behind this innovative production. He noted that the Tuff Nutt Jazz Club represents a commitment to new performance work, offering audiences unique and captivating experiences of theatre and dance.