The Nutcracker *****

Ruination ****

Sleeping Beauty *****

There are some things you can always be sure of appearing at this time of year: mince pies, pretentious perfume ads on television and productions of The Nutcracker. The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s revamped staging has a few shows scheduled at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of the month, the English National Ballet’s Nutcracker is at the London Coliseum and at the Royal Opera House, Peter Wright’s wonderful version returns to the stage. It was first seen back in the 1980s and he has made some changes since then – there is now a more culturally appropriate Chinese dance – but it still retains its magic.

Happily, now that we have returned to some sort of normality post-Covid, the children from White Lodge (the lower Royal Ballet School) are back in force for the party and battle scenes. There are still only 16 snowflakes – I do not know why, as the more snowflakes in that luscious waltz, the better.

On opening night, Gary Avis dominated Act I with his superb Drosselmeyer – no one can twirl a cape like he can. Isabella Gasparini was a sweet Clara, but the stars of the show were undoubtedly Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince. I have never seen the adage of their pas de deux danced so beautifully – quite simply sublime. Praise too, must go to Melissa Hamilton who was both mysterious and sensual in the Arabian dance.

If The Nutcracker is far too sweet and wholesome for your taste, then Lost Dog’s festive alternative, in the depths of the Royal Opera House at the Linbury Theatre, will provide the antidote to the annual sugar fest. Ruination is Ben Duke’s take on the Greek myth of Medea – she’s the one who killed her children to get back at her ex-husband. Or did she?

The show – part dance, part drama, with some lovely songs thrown in too – is a funny, often very dark take on the familiar story. At times witty but also incredibly moving, the small cast bring the tale to life in unexpected, irreverent ways. It is certainly not one for little ones, as there is some swearing and brief nudity, and the subject matter is hardly full of the holiday spirit, but if you are looking for something unusual, then this is the show for you. The dancing is particularly impressive and Sheree DuBois deserves a shout out for her amazing singing – what a voice!

Over at Sadler’s Wells, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company serves up his delightfully different take on The Sleeping Beauty. Billed as a gothic romance, this version gives us rather fierce fairies led by Count Lilac, who has a penchant for neck-biting. There is a puppet baby on the move and the famous Rose Adage is now a beautiful pas de deux with a different and wholly dramatic climax. Ashley Shaw danced Princess Aurora at the performance I saw. She brings a youthful exuberance to the role, with lovely elevation. Paris Fitzpatrick played the dual roles of Carabosse and her evil son Caradoc with delicious menace, while Dominic North dominated as Count Lilac.

In the great tradition of Bourne’s creations, this show is fun, subversive and gives the audience much to enjoy.

The Nutcracker is at the Royal Opera House until 14 January

Ruination is at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre until 31 December

The Sleeping Beauty is at Sadler’s Wells Theatre until 15 January