Red shoes everywhere just added to the excitement and anticipation which seems to follow choreographer Matthew Bourne.
Rightly applauded as a national treasure, Bourne is the best and The Red Shoes performance is top notch and spell bindingly brilliant.
Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale and film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the production currently showing at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow is a masterpiece of dancing with music by Bernard Herrmann.
And the audience responded with many wearing red shoes as a nod to the classic story which follows rising star Victoria Page (Hannah Kremer) and her journey to becoming a prima ballerina. She’s torn between her love for the struggling composer Julian Craster (Leonardo McCorkindale) and impressing the ballet impresario, Boris Lermontov (Reece Causton). Her struggle is played out vividly with a compelling performance, graceful movements and an energetic and flawless display. The characterisation was perfect and Kremer’s entire performance captured the anguish of Victoria Page expertly.
Lez Brotherston’s set and costumes are perfect for the story and add to the real drama with lots of deep reds and fabulous usage of technology.
But it’s the dancing which blows the mind. Ballet master Grischa Ljubov (Glenn Graham) leads the story and peppers it with humour to take away the emotional charge of the performance.
Every dance is done with precision by Bourne’s well drilled dancers, and the red shoes are used with effect to display the raw energy of the story.
Cleverly done, there is a show within the show, with “The Ballet of the Red Shoes” captivating and the dancing, the set and the costumes gelling together for a perfect performance.
Prima ballerina Irina Boronskaya (Michela Meazza) and premier danseur Ivan Boleslawsky (Will Bozier) add real depth as does the rest of the cast featuring Nadia (Isabella Chandler), Svetlana (Shakiera Ward), Beryl (Daisy West), Pamela (Christina Rebecca Gibbs), Mikhail (Matthew Potulski), Anton (Callum Mann), Serge (Kingston Taylor), Frederic (Thomas Ireson), Lady Neston (Molly Shaw-Downie), Sergei Ratov (Tom Barnes Standing) and Dimitri (Mark Austin).
With subtle lighting by Paule Constable, sound from Paul Groothuis and the orchestra led by Terry Davies, Bourne and associate director and choreographer Etta Murfitt had the audience dancing with delight on their way home – in their red shoes of course!
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is playing at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow until 31st January, for more ticket information check out www.atgtickets.com. The show then moves to the Theatre Royal, Nottingham from 3rd to 7th February before heading to the Milton Keynes Theatre from 10th to 14th February, the New Victoria Theatre, Woking between 17th and 21st February and Liverpool Empire from 24th to 28th February. It then heads over to Cardiff from 3rd to 7th March, Southampton from 10th to 14th March, Birmingham from 17th to 21st March, Marlowe from 31st March to 4th April, Norwich from 7th to 11th April, Edinburgh from 14th to 18th April, Bradford from 21st to 25th April and rounds off the tour at Newcastle Theatre Royal from 28th April to 9th May 2026.
For more information and tickets, please visit: www.new-adventures.net.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs courtesy of New Adventures
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