A new Nutcracker for New English Ballet Theatre

Radlett Centre, Radlett, Hertfordshire
October 28, 2025

It seems to be said every year, but Christmas really does seem to come earlier and earlier. This year’s first sighting of the festive ballet favourite that is The Nutcracker came at the neatly-appointed 300-seat Radlett Centre in Hertfordshire in the shape of a brand-new production from New English Ballet Theatre (NEBT). The venue may have been unfamiliar but, while there are changes, it’s a production that remains essentially traditional. It does still need a little bedding in here and there, but I think NEBT have a winner that will please a lot of people.

Artistic director Karen Pilkington-Miksa confesses to having been thinking about staging the ballet for some time. Apart from the difficulties of staging a Nutcracker for a small ensemble, there’s also the challenge of how to create something new for something so well-known; something that’s simultaneously unique and traditional.

Choreographer Valentino Zucchetti and Pilkington-Miksa opt for a modern re-imagining, especially for the family gathering of Act One. There are a few tweaks to the story too, primarily the replacing of the usual mice or rats by pirates, thus providing a neat link to the black model pirate ship that George (the name used for Clara’s brother) is given by Derren (effectively Drosselmeyer). It’s a change that works rather well.

Zuchetti’s choreography solidly classical throughout save for a brief moment at the party. Tchaikovsky’s famous score has been cut here and there, mostly in Act One, which comes in at around forty minutes. The edits have generally been done well apart from one very abrupt one during the Act One party. The set is minimal, which will help touring enormously, place largely indicated by backdrops, and very effectively too. Lisa James’ costumes are as beautifully elegant as can be with some of the tutus truly stunning.

For the production, NEBT has engaged the services of Liudmila Konovalova, guest soloist at the Vienna State Ballet (Weiner StaatsBallett), and who has appeared as a guest principal dancer with companies worldwide. But seasoned adults playing children or teenagers is tricky. It so often simply does not feel right, and seeing Konovalova as the teenage Clara at the party stretched my imagination rather. Similarly, viewing Marcos Silva as George, her brother.

Once past the battle between the pirates and soldiers, the issues melted away, however. Konovalova is a fine dancer. She not only has refined technique but also that special ability to find time in the music, which makes it all the more strange that she didn’t shine as one would have expected in the Grad pas de deux. She had a lovely rapport with the tall and long-legged Luca De Poli, though. When together, they made everything look easy, especially the overhead lifts, where De Poli was as wonderfully confident and solid as anyone could hope for. He also leapt and turned effortlessly, coping well with the small, just eight-metre-wide stage.

Indeed, when it came to dancing rather than acting, everyone else was on top form too. The eye was particularly taken by Audrey Nelson as both the Snow Queen and Queen of the Flowers. Nelson, who trained with the Joffrey Ballet before spending two years with the Joffrey’s Studio Company, looks a terrific addition to NEBT’s ranks. She was bright and sparkly throughout with a sunny smile, crisp footwork and nice lines that were an absolute delight.

The least successful part of the ballet comes early. There is a lot of standing around at the house party with no ensemble dances to speak of. As Derren, the party entertainer, Louis DeFelice didn’t appear particularly eccentric or mysterious. While his using a pocket watch to put guests under a spell, which adroitly gets round the problem of having to have mechanical dolls or such like, is another good idea, the execution was not convincing. Silva’s George did fizz to the ‘Jack-in-the-Box’ music, though.

A perennial Nutcracker problem for small companies and those on limited budgets is how to handle the transformation scene. How do you get the Christmas tree to grow? NEBT deals with it very simply by effectively not having one, well not other than the one painted on the backcloth, what transformation there is being done very simply with curtains. Did I miss the expensive spectacle of the bigger companies? Not in the least. Which says rather a lot for just how neatly the change of scene works in the context of the ballet.

The battle is well-staged, although the first entry of the Lead Pirate (Marcos Silva) was rather lost in a sea fog.

The Snowflakes are a wintry delight. Zucchetti proves that you don’t need huge ensembles to make it work. Just five couples, bags of clever patterning, and Nelson’s ice-crystal perfect Snow Queen.

Zucchetti wins again with the Act Two divertissements. Most are given non-national names, although their roots remain clear in the choreography. Best is Coffee Pot, Nicholas Isaiah King Rose and Leila Wright very sultry in their grey and gold harem pants. Zhaklin Gudeva and Rebecca Arias danced brightly in Castanets, while Silva and Shynggys Tolegen really went to for it in Russian Hats, leaping and turning impressively. Only Fan, a solo, felt a little flat. The Mirlitons is reimagined as Champagne, a gorgeous pas de trois for Maidie Widner, Aurora Zacutti and Paul Meneu.

The Waltz of the Flowers is a riot of colour. Again, Zucchetti comes up with lots of nice patterns but what really struck was just how insanely happy everyone looked.

So, to the pas de deux, and back home to find Clara asleep on the sofa.

The Radlett audience lapped it all up. And why not, because there is a great deal to like in what is a ballet for all ages. I couldn’t help thinking it was a shame there was no printed programme to take away as a souvenir, though.

Karen Pilkington-Miksa told me during the interval how the day had been beset with little problems, all eating into the time available for technical and stage rehearsals. But you wouldn’t have known. She confessed to being thrilled with the ballet, the first full-length production that NEBT have toured. And quite rightly too.

New English Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker continues on tour to Sevenoaks (Stag), Welwyn Garden City (Campus West) and London (Sainsbury Theatre at LAMDA).

NEBT then heads off to the Bahamas just before Christmas, where Royal Ballet principal Mayara Magri and Zucchetti himself will perform, and where the company will also pilot an extensive outreach programme, which it is planned to roll out in the UK when the production returns in 2026.