This Christmas, Olivier Award-winning theatre company Little Bulb will bring their audacious reimagining of The Nutcracker to the West End for a strictly limited season.
Originally co-produced with Polka Theatre, this bold and brilliantly silly version of the classic tale was Olivier Award-nominated in 2025 and became the best-selling Christmas show in Polka’s 45-year history.
The Nutcracker will run at St Martin’s Theatre from 10 December 2025 to 4 January 2026, with press performances scheduled for 12 December.
Set in a distinctly London landscape, this magical musical quest features clever cardboard creations, comic characters, and a chorus of cheeky musical mice.
The story follows two squabbling siblings who receive a mysterious nutcracker from their flamboyant Aunt on Christmas Eve, launching them into a fantastical journey into ‘The Mousey Realm’.
The cast includes Clare Beresford, Dominic Conway, Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens, Caroline Partridge and Shamira Turner.
The show was devised and written by Clare Beresford, Dominic Conway and Alexander Scott, in collaboration with Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens, Caroline Partridge, Edith Tankus, and Shamira Turner.
Direction is by Alexander Scott, with set and costume design by Sam Wilde, lighting design by Joshua Pharo, and sound design by Sharon Tsang. Music is co-directed by Clare Beresford and Dominic Conway.
Little Bulb are known for their inventive, genre-defying productions that blend music, storytelling, and playful imagination. This marks their West End debut.
Little Bulb said: “We are beyond excited to bring our madcap, ‘80s action film inspired version of The Nutcracker to the iconic St Martin’s theatre for our West End debut! It’s such a beautiful and intimate space bursting with theatre history, making it the perfect place for families to come and feel festive. But, here’s a twist in the tale… our version of this Christmas classic is told by the mice! That’s right, a chorus of cheeky mice playing in the home of the world’s most famous Mousetrap! What could possibly go wrong?”
Brian Fenty added: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing Little Bulb’s brilliant production of The Nutcracker to the West End this Christmas. Their wildly inventive, joyously mischievous take on this beloved classic bursts with music, laughter, and heart — it is theatre at its most alive, making it a holiday treat that promises to surprise, delight, and utterly charm audiences of all ages.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
