New twist on a cracking classic is a sweet treat

WHEN was the last time a show made your mouth water and your tastebuds tingle just looking at it? Well if there ever was going to be a product which could make it happen, it is this one.

- ANDY PHILLIPS

Though the music remains classical, just about everything else in Matthew Bourne’s retelling of this festive tale is turned upside down – and slathered in sugar. There’s so much sweetness, in fact, that it could come with a health warning, from the bright pink candy floss ballerinas to the hot fuchsia and acid green poured over everything from the scenery to the costumes.

Yet the incredible thing about Nutcracker! – refreshed and relaunched this year – is that it never becomes sickly to the point where you feel you have had enough.

It does not start out as sugary sweetness, either. The show builds up to that.