Nutcracker! has enjoyed stunning press reviews over the years. We've collated some of the best bits here
Quotes from the 2011/12 production
“In a nutshell, it’s a cracker!”
The Times, 16 Dec 2011
****“Slicker and brighter than ever -
Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is still an all-ages treat!”
The Times, 16 Dec 2011
“There is no denying its snap, crackle and pop!”
Daily Express, 15 Dec 2011
“Bourne has a rare knack for keeping his productions fresh.
Every performance reveals new detail and new comedy”
Guardian, 16 Dec 2011
“Spine-tingling theatrical effects”
Guardian, 16 Dec 2011
****“Bourne’s character sketches are as sharp as the costumes - a master caricaturist”
Evening Standard, 15 Dec 2011
“It’s naughty but nice!”
Evening Standard, 15 Dec 2011
**** “This revival has come up brighter than ever
with strong performances from the whole cast”
Independent, 16 Dec 2011
***** “This is ballet to make you laugh out loud and cheer”
Whatsonstage.com, 15 Dec 2011
QUOTES FROM 2007/08
“THE BEST IT HAS EVER BEEN.”
Guardian
“REWORKED, REFRESHED AND REMARKABLY VIBRANT.”
Times
'DELICIOUSLY FUNNY.'
Times
“A RAVISHING VISUAL TREAT.”
Observer
'IT WOULD TAKE A HEART OF STONE TO RESIST ITS EXTRAORDINARY HIGH SPIRITS.'
Daily Telegraph
'A DELICIOUSLY FUNNY REINVENTING.'
The London Paper
'SUPERCHARGED SPECTACLE'
Metro
'IT IS A PRODUCTION THAT CAN APPEAL TO CHILDREN AND THE MOST HARDENED OF DANCE FIENDS.'
Financial Times
'MORE CLEVER IDEAS THAN ANY OTHER 10 VERSIONS PUT TOGETHER.'
Time Out
'A NUTCRACKER THAT'S TRULY, TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS.'
Independent on Sunday
'A MASTERCLASS IN HOW TO HAVE WITTY AND WONDERFUL FUN WITH TCHAIKOVSKY'S ICONIC BALLET'
The Times
QUOTES FROM 2003/04
"Skilled and touching performancecs by Bourne’s devoted artists"
FINANCIAL TIMES
"Hats off to Matthew Bourne. His Nutcracker! is the most enjoyable and clever staging imaginable"
THE TIMES
"This is the most cohesive narrative any Nutcracker has ever had"
THE TIMES
"The place is a pink wedding cake riot of dancing Allsorts, a Knickerbocker Glory, a Humbug bouncer and a posse of Sugar Pom Pom Fairies with candyfloss hair"
DAILY MAIL
"Matthew Bourne’s smash hit version"
DAILY MAIL
"Three cheers for Matthew Bourne, three more for his version of The Nutcracker"
EVENING STANDARD
"Bourne has created a brilliant family show"
EVENING STANDARD
"Bourne’s ballet-cum-panto reveals the music (and hence the story) as far more tender and heart-aching than the average, respectable staging"
EVENING STANDARD
"So pretty, so funny, so frisky and good-hearted – Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! has just about everything desirable in a Christmas show…. Very few ballet productions send you home feeling as good about life as this one"
DAILY TELEGRAPH
"Act 2 is a deliriously camp riot of pink, oozing ice-cream sexiness and an Absolutely Fabulous sense of girly satire"
DAILY TELEGRAPH
"Over the top campery, knockabout tomfoolery and some excellent, tightly choreographed dancing all combine to delightful effect – this has to be a don’t miss event"
METRO
"You’d be hard pressed to find a better evening out"
METRO
"Tres bon bon"
THE GUARDIAN
"Kitsch, certainly, but beautifully cooked! And served up with a shining eagerness by the cast"
FINANCIAL TIMES
"As a Yuletide treat this Nutcracker! cannot be faulted"
FINANCIAL TIMES
"Scrooge that I am when faced with most Yuletide nonsenses, there is not a “Bah! Humbug” in my heart for this jolly seasonal outing"
FINANCIAL TIMES
QUOTES FROM 2002/03
"This Nutcracker is surely the only version in history to generate real narrative tension. Once again Bourne proves that when it comes to conjuring stories, he knows how to work the right spells"
THE GUARDIAN
"It’s a triumph for the designer Anthony Ward, even more charming, even more of an eyeful than ever before"
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
"Bourne laces his glittering confection with the wit and sly humour that’s become his trademark…. It’s like watching a selection box sparkle into life"
METRO
"Not even an Elton John birthday party could lick this for over-the-top glitz… a Christmas Nutcracker that’s kitscher than candy floss… a cracker of a Chrismas confection"
DAILY MAIL
"It all adds up to a totally delightful and spirited reading of a classic story that should please the whole family"
WHATS ON
"The show is titled – or should I say branded – Nutcracker! It could usefully reclaim the definite article, because it is definitive; it also deserves the exclamation mark it has awarded itself"
THE SPECTATOR
"Bourne is full imaginative flow is tough to beat when it comes to animating a repertory classic"
VARIETY
"Nothing will kickstart the tastebuds like Matthew Bourne’s refreshingly insane Nutcracker! "
SUNDAY EXPRESS
"Bourne’s Nutcracker! is a great family show… funny and saucy, with brilliant designs and big musical numbers"
EVENING STANDARD
"Clever, cheesy, witty and sweet, it’s a Nutcracker that champions the underdog and dotes on dreams"
THE TIMES
- See more at: http://www.new-adventures.net/productions/nutcracker/reviews#sthash.yTpnPFv4.dpuf
