By Joy McKay.
A ballet of a film about a ballet about a book, it all gets a bit meta…
As a child I dreamed of owning a musical jewellery box, the kind with a tiny ballerina inside who pirouetted in front of a mirror when the lid opened. In my mind that tiny ballerina was always Moira Shearer, star of the 1948 film The Red Shoes. Her depiction of the beautiful, talented and yet tortured Prima Balleirina Victoria Page becoming an archetype, and an inspiration, to many.
The Red Shoes is a lesser-known Hans Christian Andersen story upon which the 1948 film is based. Within the film a full ballet of the fairytale is created, complete with score, characters, costumes and sets. An entire production encapsulated inside a movie, bookended by the story of rising star Victoria Page as she struggles with the demands of ballet impresario Boris Lermontov and her love; composer Julian Craster.
Bourne’s ballet follows the same plot as the film, with a little artistic license, as to be expected transposing from screen to stage. The film is very much of its time and it would be impossible not to compare the costumes and sets with those in this production.
The beginning is somewhat timeless – upper-class theatre goers in their finery look much the same in any era with their bow ties and luxuriant gowns. But the rest of the costuming is 100% 1940s fashion. From the heavy tweeds worn in London to the lightweight slacks in Monte Carlo the costumes are elegant and beautifully cut. The cast looking like the stylish illustrations on old sewing patterns.
A revolving curtained arch is used to reveal what is happening on stage and then off stage, be it Covent Garden, Paris, Monte Carlo or the East End of London. The curtain moves shifting our perspective allowing the story to flow without major or jarring set changes. For scenes outside the theatres staging remains simple.
The exception being the Ballet Lermontov’s production of their The Red Shoes; the ballet within the ballet. The stage is transformed quickly and dramatically as we are taken to their performance. We are transported into a storybook for the retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale with stark white backdrops and monochrome animations completely unlike anything else during the show. This is in contrast to the ballet scene in the film but manages to capture the surrealism, so prevalent at the time. Changing how this iconic section is presented is bold, but works brilliantly and brings a climatic end to the first half of the performance.
Matthew Bourne productions always feature piped music as opposed to a live orchestra, something I always find disappointing as I enjoy hearing the instruments fill the theatre with sounds in a way a pre-recorded score just doesn’t have the ability to do. The film is as much about the music and composition as it is the dancing and whilst there are two pianos on stage most of the time it seems a shame that neither were used. The choice of music was also unusual. Bourne has chosen to use a selection of reorchestrated pieces by acclaimed film composer Bernard Hermann. I was therefore a little surprised to recognise music from Fahrenheit 451 and Citizen Kane rather than the original Brian Easdale score, but these compositions have been woven together in such a way to really compliment the ferociousness of emotion core to this ballet.
I always love the Matthew Bourne ballets and also the film, so had been excited to see The Red Shoes for many years, but sadly the covid pandemic cut the previously planned tour short. However, there is sometimes a little ambivilance seeing someone else’s interpretation of something you love. And so, whilst I didn’t know what to expect from this production I did approach it with some apprehension. I need not have worried, the film was not replicated scene for scene, instead the feel of the story, the emotion, the madness was captured and retold.
Whether the fairytale, the film, the ballet in the film, or the ballet on stage tonight The Red Shoes is a story about passion driving obsession and in turn driving insanity. Tonight the story was retold beautifully with obvious affection and reverence to the original but with a creative twist we have come to expect from Matthew Bourne.
Tickets for Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes (Tuesday 10– Saturday 14 March 2026) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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