Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! to air on BBC this Christmas

The 30th anniversary production of Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! is to air on BBC this Christmas.

A filmed performance of the hit show from Dance company New Adventures will broadcast on BBC Two on Christmas Day (Sunday, 25 December) at 1:30PM.

You’ll also be able to watch online form the same date on BBC iPlayer.

Featuring Cordelia Braithwaite as Clara, Harrison Dowzell as Nutcracker, Ashley Shaw as Sugar and Dominic North as Fritz; the show was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells, London, in January 2022, and is directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon.

With family-sized helpings of Bourne’s trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! follows Clara’s bittersweet journey from a darkly comic Christmas Eve at Dr. Dross’s Orphanage, through a shimmering, ice-skating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, influenced by the lavish Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.

Tchaikovsky’s glorious score and Anthony Ward’s newly-refreshed delectable sets and costumes combine with dazzling choreography to create a fresh and charmingly irreverent interpretation of the classic.

The show is the latest from legendary Matthew Bourne to air on the BBC following The Red Shoes in 2020, Cinderella in 2017 and Sleeping Beauty in 2013.