Nutcracker review – a Christmas dream of love that goes with a swing

Tuff Nutt Jazz Club, Southbank Centre, London
A hunky Action Man opens up a sequin-clad life for the protagonist of Drew McOnie’s jazzy, out-and-proud take on Tchaikovsky’s ballet

The run-up to Christmas means Nutcracker season in the dance world, but here’s one that veers away from the conventional narrative into a joyful celebration of identity and the dream of being and loving whoever you wish.

In Drew McOnie’s new show, the protagonist Clara becomes Clive (Sam Salter), a boy who’d rather play with the fairy on the Christmas tree than the Action Man his mildly disapproving dad gives him. Luckily, the plastic doll turns into a bona-fide hunk (Amonik Melaco) who takes him off to the Land of Dreams where he can live out his best sequin-clad life.

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