IT'S fortuitous for fans of dance that Matthew Bourne almost wilfully ignores the advice “If it's not broke don't fix it."

The choreographer has a knack for taking apart already well-loved ballets and rebuilding them into something extra special.

In the Nutcracker, the third of his productions to visit the Liverpool Empire in as many years, he recasts privileged little girl Clara as a neglected orphan on the cusp of womanhood.

The decadent Christmas gathering of Hoffman's original tale is replaced with a hastily put together party in which primary coloured paper hats and the odd balloon contrast with the grey walls of the barren orphanage.

In such an unforgiving world as this there is no need for make-believe enemies. Instead of a vicious mouse king to battle, Clara has to put up with whip-cracking Dr Dross in his leather tailcoat (James Leece), his fawning wife and matron (Madelaine Brennan) and their bullying children.

As midnight strikes, the orphans mount a rebellion and, led by the Nutcracker doll which has transformed into human form, they escape through cracks in their dormitory walls to another world.

An entrancing piece set to Tchaikovsky's serene Waltz of the Snowflakes and featuring the corps de ballet dressed in white brings Act One to a close, against a celestial backdrop of swirling mist, fluffy white clouds and a snowfall.

There's a dramatic change of atmosphere in the belly laugh of a second act, which – once Clara (a gutsy Hannah Vassallo) has been kitted out in attire suitable for entry to Sweetieland by her friends the Cupids – announces itself with a riot of colour and rich characters.

The casting of a stout humbug as the bouncer on the city gates is a brilliant touch – what other sweet would make a better moody doorman?

He admits entry to a trio of Latin licorice allsorts, a lecherous knickerbocker glory, some boisterous gobstoppers and a gaggle of frivolous marshmallows in shaggy pink wigs and tiny, fluffy skirts.

Meanwhile, Clara's prince – the Nutcracker incarnated into a handsome hero in tight, white trousers - has been stolen away by the Sweetieland alter ego of Dr Dross's daughter, Princess Sugar.

As ever Bourne's storytelling skills and sense of fun takes the reins in a show that, while more accessible than much classical ballet, does not compromise on technique.

It's perfectly complemented by Anthony Ward's stage set, which ranges from the simple (in the grey, discomfortingly elongated orphanage) to the the extravagant (an enormous pink, wedding cake with dancers on every tier).

Bourne's Nutcracker may have been first devised 20 years ago but it has the timeless feel of Tchaikovsky's 120-year-old score.