An African adaption of The Nutcracker delights
6 Nov 2009
Yes the festive spirits are in the air, and if you are like me and can't quite believe how close the end of the year is looming, and are still startled by seeing Christmas decorations popping up everywhere, will be pleased or dismayed to know (depending on your point of view) that festive times are most definitely just around the corner and soon the Little Drummer Boy will be assaulting your ears at a Pick n' Pay near you. I was pleasantly brought round to this fact last Wednesday night by attending the wonderful Mzanzi Production of The Nutcracker at the Baxter. This talented company has created an innovative South African-inspired ballet adaption of the much loved festive classic.
The original Tchaikovsky score is brought to life and given new meaning by director Dirk Badenhorst, as well as the vibrant dancers who put a decidedly modern and South African spin on the tale. The story is quite different from the original, but does stick to the idea of the little girl Clara who is given a magical Christmas gift; though instead of a nutcracker in this case, it is a magical djembe drum with a nutcracker painted on, given to her by her godmother, not father, at a Christmas Eve party. Her godmother is played by Kitty Phetla, who is probably the most statuesque Amazonian ballet dancer I have ever seen and quite dwarfs the diminutive Clara played by Gwen Barry. Phetla gives a very noble and strong performance in the first half, but somehow her height and strong presence seemed to work against her in the second half and she came across as slightly clumsy in the faster paced dances.
Craig Arnolds is brilliant as the butler, soldier and Sun God, showing how versatile his style of dancing is as he captures each of the very different roles and characters. While Yarisha Singh is flamboyantly sassy as the maid, and later as a sexy flamenco dancer, and injects quite a fair bit of passion into her movements, which is not so often seen in traditional ballet.
The lighting and sets designed by Andrew Botha are quite spectacular, made more so by the fact that they are quite simple and consist only of different strips of painted material being displayed in each scene. Now and again quirky SA touches can be seen, such as a Christmas angel atop a Christmas tree is a cheery Madiba face with Santa hat.
The Nutcracker is a delightfully magical production that is the perfect festive activity for the whole family and is a far more pleasant way to celebrate the season than battling the shopping throngs and immensely irritating Christmas carols.
The Nutcracker runs at the Baxter till 6 November at 8pm and on 7 November at 2pm and 8pm. Tickets cost from R75 to R170 with special discounts for groups and schools. Following the Cape Town performances, the production will be staged at the Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg from 26 November to 6 December 2009. Booking is via Computicket. For more info call Leon on +27 (0)11 482 3727.
