Jasper Conran on… The Nutcracker Sweeties

“The Nutcracker Sweeties is a terrific one-act ballet, set to Duke Ellington’s jazz version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. It was created by David Bintley, the choreographer and director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, who asked me to design the costumes (I’ve worked with him before). It’s the same storyline but with livelier and more light-hearted dancing and music. A live jazz band, Echoes Of Ellington, accompanies the performance. It has already toured parts of the country and was very successful when it came out in Birmingham last September.

I hadn’t heard Duke Ellington’s version before. To my mind it has a very Forties Big Band sound. I wanted to bring this sort of Americana – almost Busby Berkeley – look to it. What I tried to do was react in the same way as he did to Tchaikovsky’s original music and make it wild… up… happening. It took about ten months to complete the costumes and it was terrific fun. I’d been working on Edward II, which is, as you might imagine, quite a dark tale, so this was really nice to do.

You know that, as a theatre designer, you get what you’re given and you’re grateful for it. I like designing for ballet but I’d always wanted to do something I could react to in this way, to be more expressive in my designs. They’re a brilliant company to work with – such fantastic dancers. It’s a fantastic irreverent romp, and must be seen.” Jasper Conran Hot Tickets Magazine