The Nutcracker

Celebrate our final season of Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker with us! 

Perfect entertainment for the whole family, our festive favourite returns for one last year to enchant Queensland audiences with its sparkling winter wonderland. Choreographed by Ben Stevenson OBE and featuring the original Tchaikovsky score played live by Queensland Symphony Orchestra, this cherished Queensland Ballet tradition is in its thirteenth and final season. 

It’s Christmas Eve and under tinsel and twinkling fairy lights, young Clara and Fritz are gifted new toys. But a visit from the mysterious Dr Drosselmeyer puts plans in a spin. When the clock strikes 12, nothing is as it seems! Clara and the Nutcracker Prince journey across a Lemonade Sea to the Kingdom of Sweets for a midnight rendezvous featuring all the character favourites, including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mother Ginger and more.  

This hugely popular ballet has been captivating audiences across the globe for more than 120 years. Queensland Ballet’s production was created by Ben Stevenson OBE in 1976 and premiered for Brisbane audiences in 2013. Don’t miss our most cherished annual tradition with the whole family one last time. 

Choreographer Ben Stevenson OBE  

Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky  

Music Arranger and Conductor Nigel Gaynor  

Costume Designer Desmond Heeley  

Associate Costume Designer Noelene Hill  

Set Designer Thomas Boyd  

Lighting Designer David Walters  

Music performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra 

 

The performance on 7 December 2025 is performed to recorded music. Recording by Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Voices of Birralee, conducted by Nigel Gaynor. 

Please note this performance uses strobe lighting and theatrical haze and smoke effects.