Regarded as a movie masterpiece, The Red Shoes (1948) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger was based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tragic fairy tale to explore dark themes of uncontrolled ambition and desire. Ballet Lermontov is modelled on Diaghilev’s legendary, pioneering Ballets Russes, the avant-garde company which pursued artistic devotion.
When the tyrannical impresario, Boris Lermontov asks the aspiring ballerina, Vicky Page, ‘Why do you want to dance?’ she wisely and wittily replies, ‘Why do you want to live?’ Art and life are inseparable.
Matthew Bourne translates the classic film-opera to the stage as a colourful tapestry of melodramatic fantasy, music, design and dance. His slick, smooth choreography intertwines classical ballet with contemporary fluency featuring dazzling, sharp-as -a-pin ensemble routines and a lyrical language of movement which pulses with urgency, shaping character as much as spectacle.
The brilliant, bold orchestral soundtrack is curated from Bernard Herrmann film scores, e.g. Fahrenheit 451, Hangover Square, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Think of the pulsating power of Herrmann’s murderous-music for Psycho. Here, strident strings and piano chords illustrate the intense feelings of passionate love and psychological turmoil with haunting melodies.
Vibrant atmospheric rhythm is like a heartbeat which carries the dance from spirited jazz numbers to romantic duets and soulful solo performances. The brooding romanticism underpins the drama without overwhelming it, allowing the crisp, cool choreography to breathe while maintaining a constant undercurrent of unease.
The dramatic focus follows Vicky’s emotional journey as she prepares to star in ‘The Red Shoes’ surrounded by a posse of possessive, manipulative men. With an uncanny likeness to Moira Shearer in the film, Cordelia Braithwaite encapsulates an initial, girlish innocence, then the struggle between artistic ambition and personal sacrifice with grace and vulnerability. Alongside her, Leonardo McCorkindale as Julian, the charming but conflicted composer brings a magnetic energy to their passionate affair, while a scintillating pas de deux charts Vicky’s shifting loyalties between love and vocation with a clarity that words would only diminish.
Bourne and Brotherston create a masterly double act which once again crafts the elements of drama and design with perfect precision. The theatrical world of Ballet Lermontov is evoked in ingenious sets with a revolving proscenium arch, waltzing between auditorium and back stage views.
As the action moves from Covent Garden to Paris and South of France, a white cyclorama presents projected backdrops from city streets and winter trees to sunny beach. Glamorous costumes (speedy changes) add to the overall 1940s period and melodramatic mood as effective lighting reflects shadowy silhouettes on the water along the seashore.
Cinematic wizardry also transforms the performance of the mini-ballet, ‘The Red Shoes’ into a surreal dreamscape like a child's pop up theatre with velvet drapes. We observe the weight of Vicky’s dual role as dancer, (on and off stage), making her eventual descent into madness all the more haunting, interspersed between desperation and ecstasy. Film imagery from score to screen, succinctly reinforces the thematic interplay between real life and the illusion of theatrical performance.
First performed in 2016, this revival of The Red Shoes encapsulates Bourne's vision of a love letter to dance. This intimate show distils the dark, gothic enchantment of the original film into something more psychologically modern and delightfully magical. Sophisticated in aesthetic style, mood and manner, the symbolic, emotional heart of the ballet shows how artistic obsession is driven by the seductive power of red-ribboned shoes.
Showtimes:
14 – 18 April, 2026. Evenings 7.30pm. Matinee, 2.30pm (Thurs & Sat).
Ticket prices: from £29.50 (concessions and discounts available)
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/the-red-shoes/#details