The Nutcracker: Fascinating Facts and Figures!

From hundreds of performances and pairs of pointe shoes to a flying goose that has travelled more than eight miles, there's plenty that goes into bringing The Nutcracker to life each Christmas.

Behind the enchanting music, spectacular dancing and magical stage effects is an enormous amount of work from our dancers, musicians, costume team and backstage crew. Here are some fascinating facts and figures you might not know about our much-loved production.

The performances

The Nutcracker has become one of Birmingham's favourite Christmas traditions, with 669 performances at Birmingham Hippodrome to date. Across all venues, the production has been performed 774 times, including at the Royal Albert Hall, The Lowry, London Coliseum, The O2 Arena and Lyceum Theatre.

The dancers and characters

The production features an incredible 118 different character roles, brought to life this season by the Company's 63 dancers. Many dancers take on multiple roles throughout the performance, while nine children join the Company for the Christmas Party scene.

Behind the rehearsals

Rehearsals begin several weeks before opening night for Principal pairings and some of the most physically demanding roles, including the Trepak and Chinese dances. Larger ensemble scenes are brought together closer to opening, with the children joining during the final week to rehearse the Party scene.

Pointe shoes by the hundreds

All that dancing takes its toll on pointe shoes! Female dancers will use more than 350 pairs across the Company during the 20-performance run, with some also using older pairs for rehearsals.

The music behind the magic

Tchaikovsky's iconic score is brought to life by 61 musicians at every performance, using 20 different types of instrument, including seven types of percussion.

The orchestra also features toy instruments and unusual sound effects, from train and Swanee whistles to a cracker whip and flexatone. The famous celeste creates the magical sound so closely associated with Christmas.

A choir of 12 singers from Ex Cathedra also joins every performance, singing throughout the Snow scene until the end of Act I.

A very tall Christmas tree

One of the production's most spectacular moments is the transformation of the Stahlbaum family's Christmas tree. It grows from 3.7 metres to an impressive 7.5 metres, complete with 24 candles.

The magic behind the scenes

It takes more than 200 people to bring The Nutcracker to life each year, with five set changes transporting audiences through Clara's adventure.

Some of the other behind-the-scenes figures are just as impressive:

• One tonne of dry ice is used throughout the run.
• 75kg of artificial snow, imported from a specialist company in New York, creates the magical Snow scene.
• The flying goose that carries Clara to a magical land travels 20 metres across the stage at every performance. Since 1990, it has travelled more than eight miles at Birmingham Hippodrome!

Costume changes in the blink of an eye

BRB's in-house Costume team has more than 10 members, supported by nine Birmingham Hippodrome dressers, making approximately 19 people working on costumes and dressing.

There are some incredibly quick transformations during the performance:

• One minute: Clara's quick change from her day dress into her night dress, assisted by two Costume team members.
• Three minutes: The time Soldiers have to change before taking their positions inside the soldier box.

Party Guests also transform into Soldiers, while Cadets become Rats, with Costume team members and dressers working behind the scenes to make every change happen on time.

The magic of The Nutcracker

From the first notes of Tchaikovsky's score to the final flurry of snow, every performance is the result of countless hours of preparation, teamwork and dedication. So, when you next take your seat at Birmingham Hippodrome, spare a thought for everyone working behind the scenes to bring this magical Christmas tradition to life!

The Nutcracker runs from Friday 20 November to Saturday 12 December 2026 at Birmingham Hippodrome. Book your tickets now for Birmingham's ultimate festive treat!