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SCENE IT: Cape Ballet Africa’s THE NUTCRACKER, tradition with a twist
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Marina Griebenow
It’s not Christmas yet, but Cape Town has already received its gift: Cape Ballet Africa’s magical production of THE NUTCRACKER, following a seasonal run in Johannesburg in December 2025.
In South Africa we have long adopted the Western (read American) tradition of presenting The Nutcracker at year’s end. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is not strictly a Christmas story, though it unfolds on Christmas Eve in the Stahlbaum household and brims with winter imagery from a Northern Hemisphere imagination.
The most recent local staging prior to this was Cape Town City Ballet’s acclaimed 2022 production under Debbie Turner (now at the helm of Cape Ballet Africa). Produced by Veronica Paeper, choreographed by Pamela Chrimes and David Poole after Lev Ivanov, and designed by Peter Cazalet — then 89 and still indefatigable — it restored a lavish Dickensian world to the stage.
At the time it seemed unlikely that a new production, the first entirely fresh one in almost 30 years, could equal it, let alone surpass it. But when Turner promised something new, she meant it.
This iteration boasts a spectacular set by Michael Mitchell, sumptuous costumes by Marcel Meyer, atmospheric lighting by Patrick Curtis and exceptional choreography by internationally acclaimed Maina Gielgud, whose precision cleaves closely to the score. To her, synchronicity and clarity of line are not decorative, they are structural.
Mitchell’s Act 1 opens sparsely, almost ominously, with the exterior of the Stahlbaum house painted on a cloth drop. Once lifted, it reveals a warm interior — two fireplaces later doubling as strategic outposts in the battle between toy soldiers and the Rat King (Aphiwe November). It is both cosy and cunning.
After the Rat King’s defeat, the room flies skyward to reveal a winter wonderland of snow-draped fir trees and falling flakes. The Snow Queen (Leané Theunissen) presides over an extended snow scene of considerable stamina, her court weaving intricate patterns before Clara (Gia Lipshchitz) and her Nutcracker Prince (Gabriel Fernandes da Silva ) depart by magical sleigh. The corps negotiates Gielgud’s geometric crossings with admirable discipline and luminous calm.
Act 2 allows Mitchell’s imagination full flight. The Kingdom of Sweets begins with a giant Fabergé-like egg that opens to reveal the most cherubic of little boy angels — real ones, no less — carefully lifted out by Drosselmayer (Marcel Meyer) to collective “oohs” and “ahs.” It is a most charming coup de théâtre.
Mitchell uses the full height and depth of the Artscape Opera House stage to create opulence without heaviness. Cascading blossoms, ornate screens and layered perspective conjure wonder without overwhelming the dancers. Scenic artist Yolandi van Jaarsveld remarks that 1 300 metres of canvas were painted using dye rather than acrylic — longevity over convenience. One rather hopes the sets will outlive us all.
Despite its scale, the design never dominates. Curtis’sseamless lighting and Meyer’s richly textured palette — all 103-plus costumes — maintain buoyancy and balance.
In the pit, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra under Brandon Phillips delivers a sterling account of Tchaikovsky’s well-known score. Phillips conducts with the rare ability to anchor both orchestra and stage simultaneously, preserving integrity while allowing the dance to breathe. The rousing curtain-call ovation for him and the orchestra was richly deserved.
With five Claras sharing seven performances, variety is assured. On opening night Lipschitz offered a Clara both sweet and assured, charting her narrative arc with clarity.
Brazilian-born Da Silva, until recently a soloist with Joburg Ballet, brought quiet gravitas and powerful elevation to the role of the Nutcracker Prince.
Act 1 offered several delights. November, first as the incorrigible Fritz and later as the doomed Rat King, proved a bundle of energy with impeccable comic timing. His Rat King met a satisfyingly sticky end.
Drosselmayer, a non-speaking role, requires presence rather than pyrotechnics. He is part magician and part toymaker, a constant benevolent presence throughout. He stands perpetually at the threshold of enchantment, without complicating it, giving and taking with expansive gestures andperfect timing as he propels and controls the narrative, thenrecedes. Meyer, reprising the part from 2022, nearly steals the show as the black-cloaked conjurer. Tall and strikingly handsome, Meyer now pairs stage presence with mature character nuance. His musical theatre background really serves him well, as he seems quietly tethered to the score at all times.
Mia Coomber is a long-standing favourite of Cape Town audiences. In Act 1 she is almost unrecognisable — and very funny — as a gently inebriated Mrs Stahlbaum who repeatedly inserts herself where she is least required. In Act 2 she re-emerges, transformed, as a radiant Sugar Plum Fairy in a beautiful mulberry tutu.
Her grand pas de deux with Gabriel Ravenscroft was serenely controlled, their balances secure rather than indulgent, while her Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy sparkled with rhythmic exactitude and crystalline clarity. One could sense the audience collectively holding its breath in observance of two deserving lead dancers.
The Act 2 divertissements — Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Marzipan and Candy Canes — provided ample opportunity for individual brilliance. Particularly memorable were the grounded sensuality of Theunissen, Thomas Larchè and Nicholas Laubscher in Chocolate; the sustained control of Maryana Pobuta and Jan Kotze in Coffee; the athletic height and landings of Caio Tardelli, Joshua Williams and Jayden Samuels in Candy Canes; the pleasing symmetry of Emily Fortuin, Maseroka Mothiba and Abigail Obregon in Marzipan; and, Erin Padoa’s quicksilver timing in Tea.
The evening culminates in the Dance of the Flowers, led by Padoa and Pobuta. Here Gielgud’s meticulous corps work pays dividends. The ensemble moves as one organism — expanding and contracting across the stage in musical generosity and technical assurance. It is waltz as architecture.
Debbie Turner and her creative team have gifted Cape Town a glittering new jewel — a THE NUTCRACKER at once traditional and invigoratingly fresh. If this production returns for seasons to come, it will not merely entertain; it will become part of the city’s festive DNA.
THE NURCRACKER is onstage at the Artscape Theatre until 1 March 2026. Tickets can be booked through Webtickets.