Presented as a gift to the city of Birmingham way back in 1990, The Nutcracker has become a permanent fixture in the Birmingham Royal Ballet calendar. The show tells the story of Clara, who is given a mysterious nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and then embarks on an enchanting adventure. 
What’s On spoke to Paul James, the company’s chief executive, to find out what makes the much-loved festive production such a sweet treat…

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s spectacular production of The Nutcracker returns to the stage this month, celebrating its 35th anniversary at the Hippodrome. 

A lavish Christmas fantasy, underscored by the beloved music of Tchaikovsky, the story follows Clara’s Christmas Eve adventure with her toy Nutcracker, which has come to life. 

“It's always very difficult for me to say ‘this is the best Nutcracker in the world’, because it's very subjective,” says Paul James, chief executive of Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB). “And also, we’re slightly biased! It’s the scale of the storytelling, the scale of the sets, the growing tree, the snow goose, the snow, a full company of musicians - the Royal Ballet Symphonia are at the heart of everything we do - it’s all just mind-blowing. Whether you’re a fan of ballet, or a fan of great theatre and event theatre, it finds its story for each generation.” 

The production was a gift to the people of Birmingham, from Artistic Director Sir Peter Wright, when the company transferred to the city from London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1990. Sir Peter turns 99 during The Nutcracker’s run this month. 

“One of our strongest partnerships was always with Birmingham Hippodrome,” says Paul. “So when we came here, it wasn’t out of the blue, but out of the development and evolution of a partnership over decades of ballet touring. [The Nutcracker] premiered in our first season here, and here we are 35 years later. More than a million people have seen it. It is an icon of everybody's festive calendar.” 

In 2022, the scenic and costume elements were rejuvenated, overseen by the original designer, John Macfarlane, after a two-year fundraising campaign.

“This wasn't about trying to find some big organisations to come in with a large cheque - it was about individuals making smaller donations to support the redevelopment. It is a shinier and brighter show [now]. There’s a new lighting rig, there are things that make it work better, that you'd never see from an audience perspective. But the thing that struck us all when the curtain went up on the first day after it was refurbished, was just how bright it was, how everything sparkled again and gleamed again.” 

The production has endured as a festive tradition for generations of ballet fans, both in the audience and on stage - BRB provides a pathway into dance and ballet careers for the people of Birmingham.

“It feels ‘about us’ in some ways - it feels very connected to the city. You see that more recently with Black Sabbath. These are ballets for Birmingham, for the people of Birmingham. They have been built here and developed here. Yes, we take the national label, but there is also that sense of ‘home’. Our dancers all live here - all of those things are very palpable.” 

This is the second year that The Nutcracker schedule will include a ‘relaxed performance’, taking place on Tuesday 2 December. While the performance is designed to be more comfortable and welcoming for people with sensory needs, Paul says that last year’s show also proved popular with a wider audience.

“It's a great show, and it’s great for kids. Whether you're neurodiverse or not, it’s a really accessible performance in all meanings of the word - but it’s also specially adapted for the neurodiverse community.

We've actually had one or two older members of the audience who want to come back to the show, and it's a way to do that. It's still got all the elements of the show - it's not reduced in any way - it's just helping people understand and engage with it.” 

One of Paul’s favourite moments in the production is a tiny exchange between two dancers, which is easy to miss but could represent the turning point of the story.

“The moment when Clara's parents swap gifts, and he clips the necklace around her neck. Every pair of dancers behaves ever so slightly differently in that moment, and to me it's almost like that's the transition. You've gone through the overture, and it clicks - here's where things start to move. It's such a little thing, but it's something I look out for every time I watch it. It's the acting, not the dancing, in this particular moment. How does that then pivot the story forward? It's such a little moment, but for me, it's really important.”

It is now almost six months since Paul was named CEO of the company, having previously taken on the role in an acting capacity following the death of Caroline Miller last December.

“I can’t describe how horrible it was, this time last year, to work with Carlos [Acosta, BRB’s director] and the company through that grieving process. What was amazing was the sense in which the company pulled together and supported each other. There's a great group of leaders here, and people who have dedicated their careers to BRB and to ballet. People understood that we needed to do both things - that we needed to communicate and share what was going on and how we were feeling, but also that there was a business plan that we had to submit, and an end-of-year finance system that we had to do.”

The company took part in a memorial service in April to celebrate Caroline’s life and legacy.

“We were able to express all of that through dance and through speech. Then the company was able to say, we need to carry on reaching as high as we can - as Carlos says, ‘reaching for the stars’. That's what Caroline gave us; that energy and ambition to match Carlos' insane amount of energy - to get us to all these great places.”

As well as personal tragedy, this year has also brought the challenge of running BRB with reduced funding. Now, more than ever, the company is hugely grateful for the assistance of its supporters.

“We saw the end of our Birmingham City Council funding this financial year, so after April we got nothing.

The impact of the National Insurance contributions meant that we had a double hole - not only did we lose the money that we used to get, but we then also had to find almost as much again. The great news is that audiences are really strong. The audiences in Birmingham - and on tour as well - have really come back after the pandemic. This current Black Sabbath tour is packed to the rafters wherever it's going, and that is really important.

“The first thing I say to anybody if they want to support us is ‘come and see us’. That’s the reason we're here - it gives us joy to perform in front of an audience, so buy a ticket. It's that relationship between a performer and their audience that makes live performance, particularly ballet, so special.”

Feature by Jessica Clixby

The Nutcracker shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Friday 21 November to Saturday 13 December