REVIEW: Birmingham Royal Ballet The Nutcracker - breathtakingly beautiful

You literally could hear a pin drop as the theatre was stunned into silence as The Rose Fairy began the build up to the Grand pas de deux with Sugar Plum Fairy.

It was just one of the many incredible highlights at the first night of the return of The Nutcracker to Birmingham Hippodrome after its £1m transformation.

The Birmingham Royal Ballet world famous version of the timeless classic was especially created for the city by former BRB director Peter Wright when the company first moved here from London in 1990.

Thirty-two years later - after being seen by over a million people in Birmingham, London, Japan and more - the sets and production needed a little TLC to keep them in tip top condition, and what a result!

The breathtakingly beautiful production opened to a packed out house on Saturday (November 19) - and it is more remarkable than ever.

The sumptuous Victorian Christmas scene was truly decadent with its rich, crimson drapery. The giant scurrying rats were as sinister as they were amusing and the magical musician trickery as enchanting as ever.

However the real wow factor for Act One was the beautiful snowflake scene, transporting the audience out of their seats to a truly magical winter wonderland.

Half an hour later after the interval we were all on our seats eager to see more - and we weren’t disappointed.

The design and detail was stunning as we met dancers from Spain, Arabia, China and Russia. But the real showstopper came from Miki Misutani dancing The Rose Fairy and Momoki Hirata and Mathias Dingman’s Grand pas de deux.

The delicately strong, rhythmic movements weaved around Tchaikowsky’s cherished tunes in perfect harmony for a truly iconic experience.

A triumphant start to Christmas. If you’ve seen The Nutcracker before, you’re in for a real treat. And if you’ve never seen it - don’t miss out one one of the best things about a Brummie Christmas!