The Nutcracker - Family Friendly Performance Review

Christmas Ballet For All The Family

English National Ballet offer family friendly performances where children under 5 are welcome. I took my 2 year old daughter to see The Nutcracker as part of the English National Ballet Christmas season. English National Ballet has performed The Nutcracker as part of its Christmas season every year since 1950.

See also review of ENB's The Nutcracker (non-family friendly performance).

English National Ballet offers a family friendly performance for each ballet in the Christmas season. Family friendly performances happen on a weekday afternoon. A free buggy park is available and there are plenty of staff to assist young families.

Each ballet is a different length but The Nutcracker is well-suited to young families as it lasts for about 2 hours with a 25 minute interval.

English National Ballet have a very colorful version of the E.T.A. Hoffman story which makes it great for the kids. The sets and costumes are by Gerald Scarfe and the choreography is by Christopher Hampson.

This eccentric retelling of the classic Christmas ballet includes snowflakes dancing out of a giant fridge, an evil mice sword fight in the dead of night, and an origami bird to whisk the heroine Clara away to the Kingdom of the Sweets.

You can find out everything you've ever wanted to know about The Nutcracker from these great resources on the About.com Dance site: All About The Nutcracker Ballet.

The family sitting next to me and my daughter told me they come every year for this performance and I could see from the fact that nearly every seat was taken that it was an extremely popular event.

The Grandma the other side of me told me I would be amazed how quiet the children were during the ballet and she was right, it was extraordinary.

For the first Act I think all the children were captivated by the fun antics on stage. I'd told my daughter the basic story: Christmas house party, Clara gets a nutcracker doll, brother breaks it, Drosselmeyer mends it, kids go to bed, Clara gets up, doll comes to life, fights with mice, Nutcracker is hurt, Clara kisses him, all good. To the Land of Snow with lots of snowflakes dancing out of a giant fridge. You know, the usual stuff.

My daughter sat on my lap for Act I and talked me through what she saw on stage. Even without words, it seemed all the children were very capable of following the story. And even at two years old, my daughter was totally captivated by the performance, especially during the house party as she (and I) loved the family characters.

Act II involves the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince, plus entertainment from lots of characters in the Kingdom of the Sweets before the Grand Finale. My daughter wasn't so keen to sit still during this Act but she wanted to dance like the Sugar Plum Fairy and spent most of the second Act spinning around in front of her chair.

The only downside was the end when my daughter was most upset it had to finish. She was having far too much fun!

Once you have booked your tickets for an English National Ballet family friendly performance then why not enjoy the whole day in central London? You could spend the morning in the National Gallery following a family trail or audio guide. I would also recommend using the ArtStart touch screen system to plan your own tour. There are plenty of themed suggestions such as monsters or exotic animals.

Lunch could be at the National Dining Rooms within the National Gallery or cross the road to the Cafe in the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Both welcome families.

After lunch, arrive at the London Coliseum by 2pm for a 2.30pm performance. It can get a bit busy with young families arriving so it's best to give yourself plenty of time.

Enjoy the ballet performance and afterwards go to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas tree lit up and listen to the carol singers.

You could stay for dinner at Gaby's Deli or head home and collapse. It's been a long day!