Birmingham Royal Ballet and Birmingham Repertory Theatre have announced a specially adapted production of classic Christmas fairytale, The Nutcracker, will run at The REP from 14-22 December 2020.

This marks the first time that the family favourite has played at The REP, which will be made a Covid-safe environment for audiences, performers and production crew.

The production has been condensed to 80-minutes but retains all of the most enchanting moments and characters from the full-length show. The iconic Tchaikovsky score will also be performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

The production features Peter Wright’s award-winning choreography, adapted by David Bintley for the Royal Albert Hall production. This new iteration of The Nutcracker will also receive new creative direction from Birmingham Royal Ballet Director, Carlos Acosta, and The REP’s Artistic Director, Sean Foley.

A second corps de ballet of extra dancers will perform the iconic snow scene, offering much needed performance opportunities to students and recent graduates from Elmhurst Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School whose career beginnings have been impacted by the pandemic.

Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta, said: “Following the fantastic experience of staging our first shows since lockdown at The REP, we are so happy to continue our collaboration with this very special version of The Nutcracker so that audiences in Birmingham and the West Midlands can have something to look forward to this Christmas. The Nutcracker is an essential part of our annual season and we can’t wait to welcome audiences back to The REP in December for this celebration.”

The REP’s Artistic Director, Sean Foley, added: “It was wonderful to collaborate with Carlos Acosta and Birmingham Royal Ballet for the World Premiere performances of Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky - and a particular thrill to welcome audiences safely back to The REP for the first time in seven months. We are just as excited to reveal the next stage in our ongoing creative partnership as we bring a special version of The Nutcracker to The REP for the very first time. A visit to theatre is an on-going Christmas tradition, and we can’t wait to share this magical experience with our audiences this festive season.”

Tickets are priced from £20 and go on general sale on 30 October here.