Review: THE NUTCRACKER, Polka Theatre
Bickering siblings, Fritz and Clara, have moved house on Christmas Eve. The house itself is lacking in brightness and cheer until Aunty Drosselmeyer arrives with a very special gift: a nutcracker. Transported to the land of sweets, which is ruled by the evil Mouse King, will Fritz and Clara be able to bring him the magic of Christmas and restore the land, as well as the house?
Polka Theatre, the venue and collaborative partner for the show, has specialised in children's theatre since 2004. When talking to Lynette Shanbury, the Executive Director of Polka Theatre, about why some companies and theatres choose to exclusively produce children's theatre, she said: “Children’s theatre is just as important as adult theatre, it needs to be equally as sophisticated, the production value needs to be just as good because children deserve the same standard as adults.” This is clearly reflected in the decision to partner with the Olivier-award winning Little Bulb Theatre Company for this production.
In the programme, designer Sam Wilde speaks about his creative process in coming up with the visual world of the show and offers advice to those who aspire to work in the field: “Good designing is about three things: failure, play and communication. It’s about going into a room and not rushing to get the correct answer, but instead finding your favorite wrong one.”
The set design is truly inspired with its use of boxes scattered about, both making sense in the context of the house-move and being used imaginatively for various different purposes. The puppets, especially the Mouse King’s extra heads, look surprisingly realistic albeit slightly haunting, adding to the more classic fairytale aspect of the show. The costumes for The Mousey Five are inventive, with its use of deconstruction to allow for key mouse aspects to be shown a.k.a. ears and tails, whilst also factoring in quick changes to aid the multi-roling in the show. These design concepts allow the children in the audience to see the magic within the real world and really encourages them to let their imaginations run wild.
This is also achieved within the storytelling itself. We like this new take on a classic story and think that the narration from the perspective of the mice is very original. The pre-show and post-interval entertainment of The Mousey Five singing Christmas songs with a cheesy twist is a lot of fun, with audience members encouraged to clap and sing along. The use of audience interaction adds to the immersion into the world of the play, without being too directly pantomime-esque, and it is a joy to hear the children in the audience getting excited to tell the narrator about what they had to eat during the interval. We all enjoyed getting involved in making mouse ears with our hands.
We felt that the Sugar Plum Fairy didn’t have enough of a role within the show and would have liked to have seen more of the visual world of the Land of Sweets (especially as it was pushed to the wayside for the sake of toilet humour), to allow for a better contrast between how it has changed since the Mouse King has taken over and to give the show even more of a Christmas sparkle lift.
However, the most interesting aspect of the show is by far the use of the nutcracker as a magical device as opposed to having it come to life. This allows for the sibling relationship to come into focus, thereby encouraging young children to take on the messages of empathy when facing fears and teamwork. The show also teaches children about sharing and self-confidence and, much in line with the tropes of traditional fairy tales and parables, tells them that making other people unhappy won’t make you any happier.
A cheesy and imaginative adaptation, bringing the magic of Christmas fairytales to young children.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill
The Nutcracker plays at Polka Theatre until 26 January 2025, with further info here.
