The Nutcracker has been given a woke makeover by the English National Ballet with the addition of Suffragettes and a girl boss lead character. The Telegraph has more.
Suffragettes will feature alongside sugar plums in a new feminist production of The Nutcracker.
Tchaikovsky’s ballet of enchanted toys and magical sweets will be staged by the English National Ballet over Christmas.
The 1892 ballet has long been a festive favourite, but it has now been updated for modern audiences by making its heroine less helpless.
Clara, the lead, will be shown handling the villains herself rather than leaving the violence to the eponymous Nutcracker, who is the prince charming of the piece.
Her heroics in the updated tale come after she is shown taking inspiration from a group of suffragettes in an amended early scene.
The feminist tweaks make the plot more of a journey of self-discovery than a simple fantasy, English National Ballet has said.
In promotional material for the show, which runs until January 12th at the London Coliseum, the company said: “She [Clara] is a young girl living in Edwardian London.
“Her journey reflects the era’s emerging hope, especially for women – she even meets some suffragettes along her journey.”
It adds that Clara “goes on a transformative adventure, building her confidence and helping her realise her inner strength”. …
The suite of changes has been overseen by co-choreographers Arielle Smith and Aaron Watkin, who wanted to modernise the plot.
Mr. Watkin told the Radio Times magazine: “We’re in a very different time now to when The Nutcracker premiered.
“Why does Clara need someone to protect her? She’s a young woman full of agency.”
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