Review: The Red Shoes (Sadler's Wells Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

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After its release in 1948, The Red Shoes made an indelible mark on British cinema, and in particular on the world of dance. So ubiquitous was its status as an inspiration that one of A Chorus Line’s edgier characters took a swing at it – “Let’s get one thing straight. See, I never heard about The Red Shoes, I never saw The Red Shoes. I didn’t give a **** about The Red Shoes.” That influence continues nearly 80 years on, but after an ill-fated musical adaptation, it seemed unlikely to make the full transition to the stage – enter Matthew Bourne.

Returning to Sadler’s Wells nearly a decade after making its London debut there, Bourne’s The Red Shoes follows the story of Victoria Page, who we follow through the highs and lows of her career and her romance with the ballet-within-a-ballet’s composer. The newest protégée of Boris Lermontov, whose jealous nature requires that the women of his company must retire upon marriage, she becomes an overnight sensation for her role in a new adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Red Shoes – a story which will ring worryingly true, and in which a young woman finds herself so compelled to continue dancing that it leads to her ultimate demise.

Unsurprisingly, Bourne’s choreography is as impressive now as it was nearly a decade prior, and understandably he homes in more tightly on some of the film’s plot points than others. After all, a student declaring a new score is plagiarised by his professor and coming to a business agreement with Lermentov is harder to put across through movement alone, whereas his constant bickering over the work with the upstart dancer he falls into a rivals-to-lovers romance with is spritely and enjoyable to behold through Bourne’s mix of frustrated gesturing and impressive, deliberately out-of-time movement. Credited as both director and choreographer, Bourne puts the first act’s plot across nicely, and his shifts between the main narrative and a handful of ballets within his own production are consistently smooth.

Leading the company on the production’s press night was Cordelia Braithwaite, who danced the central role of Victoria – meaning that she also fronted the central piece of the production, the act one-closing “Ballet of The Red Shoes.” Braithwaite’s performance develops beautifully throughout the role’s arc, her physicality shifting from girlish and light to more grounded and knowing between acts, and her build-up into the new prima ballerina is totally convincing as she evolves from one of several girls on stage to a magnetic, impossible-to-miss presence by the time she is rehearsing the leading role.

Her love interest, Leonardo McCorkindale dancing the part of composer Julian Craster, moves assuredly and capably through a mime-heavy role, before displaying some real skill as a dancer in his own right when called for, as well as displaying an electric, palpable chemistry with Braithwaite. Also compelling, and appropriately detestable by act two, is Andy Monaghan dancing Boris Lermentov, whose own chemistry with Braithwaite shifts from affectionate and tender to controlling and menacing, no small feat without a word spoken between them. Fronted by these stellar performers, the entire company move precisely and emotively, really helping to move along the story and to keep the audience following along.

Admittedly, following the plot does become more of a challenge in act two. While individual scenes were easier to keep track of, and Braithwaite in particular did an excellent job of making her emotions clear without overselling them, the exact machinations of the story did seem more rushed and, as such, slightly convoluted. Still, Bourne returns Victoria not only to centre-stage, but back en pointe in those titular shoes, and when another strong sequence of controlled chaos rounds out Victoria’s story, it’s easy to put aside any qualms about how she got there. Restaged by the Associate Artistic Director of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Etta Murfitt, The Red Shoes is transfixing and triumphant, more than enough so to sidestep any minor confusion of how Vicky ended up back in Monte Carlo.

Terry Davies has done a fine job of orchestrating the score of The Red Shoes, bringing cohesion to a collection of music from several sources. With works from existing film scores, all by Bernard Herrmann, as well as some original compositions and a section of Chopin’s Les Sylphides, Davies’ task cannot have been easy – crafting a continuous, characterful but connected score from these fractured pieces – but a decade later his work still stands strong. With his orchestrations, the music sounds lush and impressively full despite the comparatively small group of musicians employed to perform it, and in particular the music underscoring “The Ballet of The Red Shoes” is suitably stirring.

Following in the footsteps of the film’s famous use of technicolour, Bourne’s The Red Shoes continues to be a visual splendour, more than living up to the indelible image of the titular footwear. Lez Brotherston provides both sets and costumes, effectively and attractively setting locations and creating divisions between dancers and on-stage audiences for the Ballet Lermentov’s performances. These ballets-within-the-ballet are also greatly supported by Brotherston’s costumes, which are attractive and able to convey the stories being told in another way – as Victoria dances her doomed role, her costume’s increasing dishevelment combines with Braithwaite’s physicality to express the character’s exhaustion and desperation to be freed.

Further adding to the strong visuals at play is Paule Constable’s lighting, moody and unsettling where called for, and charmingly bright where the company finds themselves in happier times of relaxation and reward. Allowing for reveals and revelations, such as the early moment in which those unfamiliar with The Red Shoes find that they have been watching a fictional ballet within Bourne’s own ballet, and an audience is revealed amongst which our main character is sat enraptured. Working alongside Brotherstron’s costumes and set designs, Constable proves essential in putting across Bourne’s strong directorial vision, and adding new depths to his choreography.

Continuing to demonstrate why both Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures company have moved from strength to strength, The Red Shoes has made a welcome return to Sadler’s Wells, and will surely wow audiences across the country on its upcoming tour. Largely true to the source material while managing to forge an identity of its own, this is a piece which could be enjoyed by audiences ranging from ballet enthusiasts to total neophytes, so comparatively easy to follow is its storytelling, so compelling is its vision, and so stirring is its message about the dangers and devotions both of love and of art.

The Red Shoes plays at Sadler’s Wells Theatre until January 18^th ahead of a UK tour beginning January 27^th

For tickets and information, including 2026 tour dates, visit https://www.new-adventures.net/the-red-shoes#overview

Photos by Johan Persson