As the lights went off while the curtains went up, I was already seated at the edge of my seat, excitedly waiting for the performance to begin. I was least expecting Lawrence to make a grand magical appearance on stage which signalled the commencement of "The Nutcracker".

For those who might not have known, "The Nutcracker" is an old Christmas classic tale of a young girl's favourite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, came alive and after defeating the evil rat king in battle, brought her to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.

Jointly produced and presented with a twist from the original "The Nutcracker" by Gateway Entertainment and P'art 1 Design, this magical theatrical production has incorporated countless world-class illusions, known as magic in layman or kiddy terms. With the performance performed by award-winning Lawrance Khong and his daughter Priscilla Khong, together with an international dance troupe of 14 dancers and supported by over 50 backstage crew. No wonder the show had such an excellent and smooth flow of scenarios. 

Basically throughout the entire performance, there were almost no narration or dialogue except for maybe a brief introduction by Lawrance. Despite that fact, I could still easily understand and interpret the storyline through the professional acting of the performers. Their facial expressions, movements as well as the multiple dances performed kept me leaning over the edge of my seat since I was seated nearer to the back of the theatre.

My senses were overwhelmed in a positive aspect by the digital screen, an unconventional technological backdrop that displayed special 3D effects and laser-like lights that dances with the rhythm as well as for dramatic enhancement. Not forgetting a running scene where projection was used for a hyper reality effect that kept audiences in awe. Smoke was also incorporated close to the end of the performance.  

Elaborated props and colourfully designed costumes definitely deserved a thumbs up as well as such elements added to the overall visual of the performance. I could still remember my fascination as performers appear on stage, each with a totally different yet coherent style of costumes, scenes after scenes. I wouldn't mind wearing such nice costumes as well too! I went "OMG' when a realistic structure of a massive branch slowly descended from above. A rhetorical question of how on earth and how much effort and time was needed to make that? I exited my thinking cloud as I preferred to continue enjoying the performance since that particular scene reminded me of the movie "Monster, Inc".

Tempted to go on and on describing every detail from the different scenarios to the breath taking magic performance but I would never want to spoil surprises. Do take a look at their website and tickets are available to be purchased on https://nutcracker.gateway.sg/.

Thank you Gateway Entertainment and Affluence PR for the magical invite!