Carlos Acosta's Nutcracker In Havana Festival Theatre Edinburgh 3rd February 2026 Review
Carlos Acosta's "Nutcracker in Havana" is on at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh for only two days (Tue 3 - Wed 4 Feb), and that sadly means that many people will simply miss the opportunity to see one of the most unique and wonderful works of dance that I have seen in many years.
This review is from the Tuesday 3rd evening performance which was pretty much sold out, and I suspect that tickets for today’s show (Wed 4th) will be hard to get too, but if there are any still available, try not to miss this production.
"The Nutcracker", despite a less than favourable reception by audiences when it first opened in 1892, is now one of the world's most popular ballets, and a Christmas event for many people across the world, and why not! With one of the great musical scores by Tchaikovsky, original choreography by Marius Petipa (which has been updated by many choreographers over the years) and a story of childhood wonder, "The Nutcracker" pretty much has everything that you could ask for in a Christmas story.
What then could Carlos Acosta and Acosta Danza add to this story and a ballet that has been told and re-told/performed so many times over the years? The answer to that is pretty much everything.
I deliberately do not want to give much away about "Nutcracker in Havana" as it is full of surprises for its audience, but I am giving little away by saying here that, although the core elements of the European story and ballet are here, this is very much Carlos Acosta re-looking at this story from his Cuban heritage and his own memories. This is a story of Cuba and Carlos Acosta, and it is their story to tell, everything that has to be said is in this amazing work which fuses seamlessly the old and the new together.
Fidel Castro, we are told in the programme for this show, saw Christmas and organised religion with suspicion and declared Cuba to be an atheist country when he came to power in 1959. At first the celebrations for Christmas were severely restricted, but in 1969 it was banned completely and not re-instated until 1997, and even then, this was only planned to be a one-off relaxation of rules. This work is set in that year and the celebrations of a multi-generational family. This is also, like the original story, seen in Act II through the eyes of a young girl, but here this is that girl’s first Christmas. An uncle returning from living in Miami for 30 years brings with him some special Christmas magic too.
"Nutcracker in Havana" features dancers from Acosta Danza, Acosta Danza Yunior, junior dancers from the Acosta Advanced Training Hub in Woolwich plus special guest artists, and the result is a stunning dance performance event that is full of humour, warmth and wonder.
Carlos Acosta is artistic director and choreographer on this work, but he has assembled around him here some of the very best creatives in their respective fields to enhance both the dance and the story on stage. Everything about this production is special, and costumes, sets, lighting, sounds and video are fused together seamlessly here.
One real treat, for me anyhow, is the music for this production. I have had over the years the good fortune to review many Latin, and some Cuban, musicians, and their skills are so often impressive to watch and listen to, so finding that here Tchaikovsky's music has been given a very Cuban rhythm and feel to it (arrangements and orchestrations by Pepe Gavilondo and Yasel Muñoz) was a real surprise. One of my favourite pieces of music is from the Nutcracker "pas de deux" and making this a trumpet led arrangement is simply inspired as it works so well.
Here too, is a fusion of European classical and traditional Cuban dance creating a "Nutcracker" that has none of the formality that we are so often used to. This is simply a celebration of life and a world of wonder seen through the eyes of a young girl on Christmas Eve. Oh, don't forget those classic 1950s/60 American cars that Cuba so famously has still today on its roads.
Review by Tom King (c) 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
This review is from the Tuesday 3rd evening performance which was pretty much sold out, and I suspect that tickets for today’s show (Wed 4th) will be hard to get too, but if there are any still available, try not to miss this production.
"The Nutcracker", despite a less than favourable reception by audiences when it first opened in 1892, is now one of the world's most popular ballets, and a Christmas event for many people across the world, and why not! With one of the great musical scores by Tchaikovsky, original choreography by Marius Petipa (which has been updated by many choreographers over the years) and a story of childhood wonder, "The Nutcracker" pretty much has everything that you could ask for in a Christmas story.
What then could Carlos Acosta and Acosta Danza add to this story and a ballet that has been told and re-told/performed so many times over the years? The answer to that is pretty much everything.
I deliberately do not want to give much away about "Nutcracker in Havana" as it is full of surprises for its audience, but I am giving little away by saying here that, although the core elements of the European story and ballet are here, this is very much Carlos Acosta re-looking at this story from his Cuban heritage and his own memories. This is a story of Cuba and Carlos Acosta, and it is their story to tell, everything that has to be said is in this amazing work which fuses seamlessly the old and the new together.
Fidel Castro, we are told in the programme for this show, saw Christmas and organised religion with suspicion and declared Cuba to be an atheist country when he came to power in 1959. At first the celebrations for Christmas were severely restricted, but in 1969 it was banned completely and not re-instated until 1997, and even then, this was only planned to be a one-off relaxation of rules. This work is set in that year and the celebrations of a multi-generational family. This is also, like the original story, seen in Act II through the eyes of a young girl, but here this is that girl’s first Christmas. An uncle returning from living in Miami for 30 years brings with him some special Christmas magic too.
"Nutcracker in Havana" features dancers from Acosta Danza, Acosta Danza Yunior, junior dancers from the Acosta Advanced Training Hub in Woolwich plus special guest artists, and the result is a stunning dance performance event that is full of humour, warmth and wonder.
Carlos Acosta is artistic director and choreographer on this work, but he has assembled around him here some of the very best creatives in their respective fields to enhance both the dance and the story on stage. Everything about this production is special, and costumes, sets, lighting, sounds and video are fused together seamlessly here.
One real treat, for me anyhow, is the music for this production. I have had over the years the good fortune to review many Latin, and some Cuban, musicians, and their skills are so often impressive to watch and listen to, so finding that here Tchaikovsky's music has been given a very Cuban rhythm and feel to it (arrangements and orchestrations by Pepe Gavilondo and Yasel Muñoz) was a real surprise. One of my favourite pieces of music is from the Nutcracker "pas de deux" and making this a trumpet led arrangement is simply inspired as it works so well.
Here too, is a fusion of European classical and traditional Cuban dance creating a "Nutcracker" that has none of the formality that we are so often used to. This is simply a celebration of life and a world of wonder seen through the eyes of a young girl on Christmas Eve. Oh, don't forget those classic 1950s/60 American cars that Cuba so famously has still today on its roads.
Review by Tom King (c) 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com