Nutcracker

2023 Tuff Nutt Jazz Club - Southbank Centre

Wild-spirited, mischievous and a lot of fun, this reinvention of The Nutcracker is for anyone who wants to live life in full technicolour.

Brought together by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Drew McOnie and Mercury Prize-nominated jazz artist Cassie Kinoshi, Nutcracker sees premier dancers of The McOnie Company performing to Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score, reimagined for a live onstage jazz band.

The Tuff Nutt Jazz Club is a newly transformed music and performance space here at the Southbank Centre, putting audiences at the centre of one of the coolest jazz clubs in London.

Familiar melodies – reinterpreted by the swinging jazz band – fill the air, as dancers move among cabaret-style seating, bringing the storytelling and wild-spirited adventure of Nutcracker to life.

  • ‘★★★★ It’s Nutcracker, dance fans, but not as we know it. Heaps of Fun’

    — The Times

  • ‘★★★★ A Christmas dream of love that goes with a swing’

    — The Guardian

  • ‘★★★★ Drew McOnie’s new spin on Christmas classic The Nutcracker has a cabaret setting and a warm heart.’

    — The Independent

  • ‘★★★★ London’s first Nutcracker of the season is clever, cute and compact as a Terry’s chocolate orange.’

    — Evening Standard

  • ‘★★★★ It’s an absolute joy… cunningly condensed one-hour wonder’

    — Gay Times

  • ‘★★★★ A jazzed up version of Tchaikovsky is a festive treat’

    — Whats On Stage

  • ‘★★★★ Grab a ticket if you want a genuinely new take on the traditional tale’

    — Broadway World

The Nutcracker
  • Direction/Choreography Drew McOnie
  • Composed by Cassie Kinoshi with additional music by Rio Kai
  • Venue and Set Design Soutra Gilmour
  • Costume Design Ryan Dawson Laight
  • Music Supervision Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
  • Lighting Design Joshie Harriette
  • Sound Design Simon Baker
  • Casting by Will Burton, CDG.
  • Dancers Amonik Melaco, Sam Salter, Mark Samaras and Patricia Zhou with Chanelle Anthony, Christie Crosson, Tim Hodges, Lukas Hunt and Rachel Muldoon

Production Photos

© Mark Senior

In Rehearsal

© Mark Senior

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