REVIEW: The Nutcracker/Birmingham Royal Ballet - at The Hippodrome, Birmingham.

THIS is magic by stealth as our senses are slowly but surely seduced by the wizard’s warm-up tricks.

Before long, the sorcery of a decidedly devilish Drosselmeyer has completely overwhelmed us, his fiendish alchemy literally hitting new heights as the Christmas tree changes from stately pine to something resembling a Californian redwood.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s magnificent festive gift to the people of the Midlands is now a tradition, the first sign that season and solstice are looming ever nearer.

To be sure, we have some of the finest dancing on the planet unfolding before us. But much of the atmosphere is undoubtedly down to David A Finn’s superbly ethereal lighting which reinforces the other-worldliness of this age-old folk tale.

For time can and does stand still at the flick of a switch… we have truly entered another universe, some parallel dimension existing alongside our everyday reality.

And it is this – combined with Sir Peter Wright’s flawless choreography and Sinfonia conductor Paul Murphy’s faithful stewardship of Tchaikovsky’s immortal, evergreen score – that makes The Nutcracker unique.

The company’s seasonal choice also has a tendency to showcase its rising stars, in particular Karla Doorbar as this year’s Clara. It is quite obvious that we are going to see and hear a lot more of her in the future, for she injected the role with sustained elegance, wit and pathos.

So it’s no wonder Joseph Caley as the Prince never stopped smiling throughout his numerous balletic encounters with her. He was indeed the cat that got the cream… and it certainly showed.

These two are going to be the Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao double act of the future, mark my words. Remember where you heard it first… Nevertheless, Ms Doorbar gets a run for her money when her golden boy later performs the grand pas de deux with the Sugar Plum Fairy, a role tailor-made for Momoko Hirata who endows the piece with a finesse that is razor-sharp.

But refusing to be outdone, Ms Doorbar returns to her Prince, not so much breaking, rather taking a wrecking ball to the hearts of every man in the audience. She’s a winner, no doubt about it.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Payn delivers a deliciously dastardly Drosselmeyer and Tzu-Chao Chou’s Jack-in-the-Box most definitely has the required amount of spring in his step.

There were also some nice touches from Kit Holder as Harlequin and the old folks were certainly not left behind. Grandfather (Michael O’Hare) and Grandmother (Marion Tait) gave us a wonderfully geriatric pas de deux in which you could almost hear the joints clicking and creaking.

Elsewhere, the feline Celine Gittens always injects large doses of athletic sensuality into everything she does, and her Arabian Dance was no exception to the rule.

This passage has a delightful incongruity to it but always brings a delightful twist to the story, as does the marvellously inscrutable Chinese Dance which still garners giggles despite the passage of time.

No Nutcracker would be complete without a contribution from Nao Sakuma, and her portrayal of the Rose Fairy reminds us that when it comes to sheer class, perfect timing and consummate stagecraft, there are very few who can rival her prowess.

The Nutcracker runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday, December 13. So make it a date… because Christmas really can’t start without it.

JOHN PHILLPOTT