Crown Ballet dances The Nutcracker at the Corn Exchange on Friday 30 October, 7.30pm, in half-term. Tickets £26.25 to £34.25; 1hr 50 with an interval.

Crown Ballet will dance The Nutcracker at the Corn Exchange in Newbury on Friday 30 October at 7.30pm, the last Friday of the October half-term. It is a single performance, and the touring company is bringing it as part of what its promoter, Amande Concerts, calls its 20th anniversary UK touring season.

Alexej Ignatow, director of Amande Concerts, sent The Newbury Times the press release and a production photograph this week. Crown Ballet’s website carries the rest of the 2026 tour.

The tickets, the running time and the age guide

The Corn Exchange’s listing, checked on 6 October, gives these prices, all including booking fees:

  • Full price: £34.25
  • Concessions: £32.25
  • Child: £26.25

The show runs for 1 hour 50 minutes including the interval, so a 7.30pm start finishes at about 9.20pm. The venue’s age guide is “suitable for all ages”. The box office is on 01635 522733 or boxoffice@cornexchangenew.co.uk.

What the audience will see

The Nutcracker is set to Tchaikovsky’s score. In the company’s words, it “follows Marie as a wooden nutcracker doll becomes the starting point for a magical journey through a snowy forest and into the Kingdom of Sweets.”

The release describes the production as one that “brings together classical dancing, colourful costumes and a story enjoyed across generations.”

The Corn Exchange’s own listing puts it this way: “As snow begins to fall, young Marie receives a simple wooden nutcracker, a gift that awakens a journey beyond imagination. Through moonlit battles and shimmering forests, she follows her prince into the radiant Kingdom of Sweets.”

Who Crown Ballet are

Amande Concerts describes Crown Ballet as an “international company” that “brings these classical stories to theatres around the UK.” According to the release, the 2026 tour “marks 20 years of Amande Concerts presenting classical ballet to audiences across the country.”

What it means for you

It falls on the Friday of half-term, so school-age children have no school the next morning, and a child ticket is £8 less than a full-price seat. With a 7.30pm start and about 9.20pm finish, it is a late night for the youngest.

The rest of the week’s family events, from Dinosaur World Live at the Corn Exchange on Tuesday 27 October to the Speed Lego competition on Saturday 31 October, are in our October half-term in Newbury round-up, and everything else on this month is in What’s On in Newbury.