Nutcracker!

TNT

Classical ballet not for you? Then give Matthew Bourne’s inventive reworking of the seasonal favourite a whirl.

Instead of the usual lavish house party he gives us a grim Dickensian orphanage where the meagre Christmas tree is whisked away – along with the hand-me-down presents – as soon as the visiting governors have departed.

All is not doom and gloom however, as, at midnight, orphan Clara’s Nutcracker doll turns into a handsome (if fickle) bare-chested youth who breaks down the walls and sweeps her off to the white winter wonderland of a frozen lake and the heady pink colour burst of Sweetieland.

Here a trio of athletic gobstoppers, a lascivious cherry-topped knickerbocker glory and a quintet of marshmallow girls make dance – and Tchaikovsky’s music – as fun and as accessible as a Busby Berkeley musical, but with added bite.

Sadler’s Wells Rosebery Avenue EC1R 4TN (0844 412 4300) Tube: Angel Until January 22 (£10 - £60) sadlerswells.com