Chesterfield and Derby venues to screen Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker!

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a filmed performance screening at the Winding Wheel Theatre on Thursday, November 17.

Shot at Sadlers Wells in London, the film will be shown for the first time in 225 cinemas in the UK and internationally, including Derby Showcase Cinema on November 15.

Matthew Bourne said: “I’m always delighted when our work is able to reach new audiences around the UK and internationally and there is no better or more exciting way than through the Big Screen experience. I’m well aware that there is an enormous audience who find it impossible, for one reason or another, to get to one of our touring venues to see a live performance. So, we aim, as much as possible, to capture that “live” experience in our films, brilliantly directed by Ross MacGibbon. There is no better production than our Nutcracker! to create that feeling of elation and wonder and it’s captured equally well on the screen where, like the show itself, every night is a party.”

Family-sized helpings of Bourne’s trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy feature in Nutcracker! which is the perfect pre-Christmas treat for all the family.

Follow Clara’s bittersweet journey from a darkly comic Christmas Eve at Dr Dross’ Orphanage, through a shimmering, ice-skating wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, influenced by the lavish Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.

The show stars Cordelia Braithwaite as Clara, Harrison Dowzell as Nutcracker, Ashley Shaw as Sugar and Dominic North as Fritz.

Inspired by Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, Matthew Bourne believes that The Nutcracker has retained its perennial appeal because of the music. He said: “ Act One contains some of Tchaikovsky’s most engaging and, at times, profound, story-telling music and Act Two has one glorious melody after another. After 130 years it retains its mystery, magic, and the power to transport us to another world. Thirty years on I find Tchaikovsky’s music more and more profound; its magic turns us all into kids again.”

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! will be shown at Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel Theatre at 2pm and 7pm on November 17. Tickets £15.50 and £13.50 (concessions). To book, go to www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

Derby Showcase Cinema de Lux will screen Nutcracker! at 5.30pm on November 15. For tickets, go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk