The Nutcracker

It must be Christmas, as The Nutcracker is on at The Hippodrome in Birmingham. Despite the changes in personnel at the Birmingham Royal Ballet over the last year, the performance is reassuringly as good as ever.

Of course, that means outstanding, with beautiful sets and costumes, and delightful performances. From the moment the curtain raises to reveal the dancers frozen in position around a Christmas tree, one knows to expect dancing of the highest quality.

The programme this year describes how the sets and costumes have been updated. It is difficult to compare performances by memory, but the changes felt modest. I recall specifically only a few new elements, such as a moon motif hanging from the ceiling during some scenes, which seems to match the magician Drosselmeyer's costume.

The Nutcracker is notable for its inclusion of young children dancers, who are unfailingly skilled, and also witty actors, particularly the boy who plays Fritz, who made the audience laugh several times when he broke the nutcracker, or sulked when his toys were taken away.

Life would be so much better if it comprised ballet everyday.