Five Stars A family-friendly seasonal ballet has characterised Scottish Ballet’s winter programming for decades. This December, it would have been the late Peter Darrell’s Nutcracker, a fantastical midnight adventure, seen through the eyes of a child, Clara. Now, courtesy of cinematic panache, it’s through the eyes of a little boy (Leo Tetteh) that we discover a magical realm of dance-y delights in the limbo of a deserted theatre. When Leo (and his ever-present football) accidentally ‘gate-crash’ the venue’s backstage area, he awakens dormant echoes of past productions. Hampers spring open, props and costumes come into play and, in a thrillingly seamless cavalcade, various scenes from Darrell’s Nutcracker and Christopher Hampson’s Snow Queen meld into an hour-long feature film that captures the zest and charm of live performances. A tremendous creative team has gone many extra miles to make this Scottish Ballet ‘first’ come to fruition on-screen. It’s an outstanding achievement. As for the dancers - there’s not a hint of bodies-in-lockdown as they vividly shape-shift across different roles.