Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures – The Red Shoes at Nottingham Theatre Royal Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Sheridan Brown
Even though last night was cold, dark and sleety, I still had no hesitation in wrapping up warm and heading out to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal to be part of the audience on the opening night of Matthew Bourne’s double Olivier Award-winning ballet – The Red Shoes. Based on the classic 1948 Powell and Pressburger Hollywood movie, the production promised to be ‘an intoxicating drama’ designed to ‘dazzle your senses and break your heart’. As soon as the lights went down, the music struck up, and the first dancer appeared on stage we were swept away into a sumptuously told story of passion, obsession and tragic decisions.
The Red Shoes tells the story of an aspiring and gifted dancer, Victoria Page. Her talent is spotted by a ballet company’s domineering impresario Boris Lermontov, who casts her into the lead of a new ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy-tale, The Red Shoes. Then Victoria falls in love with the ballet’s composer, Julian Craster. Can she successfully divide her passion between dance and love for a man?
We travelled by tram into Nottingham city centre; a very easy 25-minute journey from Clifton South park and ride. We got off the tram at Royal Centre, pretty much adjacent to the Theatre Royal. Arriving at the theatre we were warmly greeted (as always) by very helpful staff. What a beautiful theatre this is! The fabulous Rococo plasterwork, domed ceiling and opulent drapes feel very grand – the perfect setting for such an epic tale.
As we settled into our seats, we took in the stage. A large proscenium arch, with rich curtains and plasterwork decorations was positioned at the rear of the stage – and looked completely at home in the opulence of the Theatre Royal’s interior beauty. Little did we know how ingeniously central this ‘arch’ would be in framing the story of Victoria, the men in her life, and the choices she has to make.
The fantastic set, designed by Lez Brotherston, is a central driver for the story in The Red Shoes. The proscenium arch glides and rotates around the stage serving as a mechanism to transport the audience from the grand, front-of-house glamour of ballet productions – to the physically hard, sweaty and shadowy world of back-stage practice rooms. But not only this, the rotation serves as a physical manifestation of the tension between the characters’ desires and obsessions, dreams and realities. We have never seen a set design so completely original and surprising. In many ways, the proscenium arch was another dancer in the production.
We were equally mesmerised by the clarity of storytelling and emotional depth conveyed through the choreography. The narrative of the production works on several layers with different choreography used to tell the different aspects of the story. Bourne beautifully juxtaposes the stiff, ego-driven rehearsals of the Lermontov Company with the fluid, lyrical passion expressed in Victoria and Julian’s duets. This juxtaposition is beautifully mirrored in the surreal and visually-arresting choreography of the Lermontov Company’s performance of The Red Shoes – a ‘ballet-within-a-ballet’.
The quality of dance was extraordinary. Cordelia Braithwaite, who danced Victoria was exceptional. We totally believed her characterisation and felt her angst as she battled between the conflicting pulls on her heart. The obsession demonstrated by the two men in Victoria’s life – Boris Lermontov (danced by Andy Monaghan) and Julian Craster (danced by Dominic North) was visceral and coercive. As tension built, the quality of their performances shone through. These three main characters were superbly supported by a talented, witty and versatile company. Their characterisations added a richness and dynamism to the performance.
Furthermore, the choreography and dance performance are beautifully enriched by a lavish musical arrangement, orchestrated by Terry Davies. Drawing upon Bernard Herrmann’s 1948 film score, the glamour of the 1940s epic soundtrack is compelling, cinematic and theatrical.
We were blown away by this wonderful, complex and multi-faceted production. And it has been so difficult to single out any particular ‘favourite’ moment. This is because we have realised that each scene, each character and each movement are completely intertwined within the overall performance. Our own response was reflected in the excited buzz of conversations of others as we departed the theatre at the end of the evening. This is a production that will live with us for a long time.
Rating: 5/5
Dates: 3rd – 7th February, 2026
Tickets: £28.50 – £68.00
Remaining shows are bookable here.