Appreciate what it means to live to dance when blockbuster choreographer Matthew Bourne’s production of The Red Shoes returns to Milton Keynes Theatre this month, writes Georgina Butler.
The quintessential backstage melodrama tells an intoxicating story of obsession and possession, chronicling the tragedy of a ballerina whose intense desire to dance conflicts with her need for love. Danced by Bourne’s New Adventures company, this dance–theatre stage version of the classic 1948 film promises to dazzle your senses and break your heart.
The Red Shoes follows Victoria (Vicky) Page, a young and ambitious dancer. Her career begins to flourish when she is noticed by legendary impresario Boris Lermontov. Charismatic Lermontov believes it is impossible to be a great artist if distracted by romance, so he fiercely demands absolution devotion from his protégés. It’s unfortunate timing, then, for Vicky to fall in love with talented composer Julian Craster.
Chosen to perform the principal role in a ballet of Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy tale The Red Shoes (which tells the story of a pair of enchanted red shoes dancing a peasant girl to death), Vicky finds herself caught between the two men who inspire her passion. As the company seduces audiences with its surreal new ballet, Vicky’s life imitates the art she embodies – with devastating consequences.
Celebrated British film-making duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger combined glorious Technicolor wizardry with emotive and dramatic performances to create their seminal motion picture. They devoted plenty of screen time to dancers; their cinematic ode to the agony and ecstasy of dancing is largely told through the medium of dance itself. The conflict between art and life is danced in powerful, dreamlike scenes (and vocalised through vehement dialogue).
Bourne’s compelling two-act production is a faithful retelling (with the odd omission for simplified storytelling and without the spoken words, of course). Devised as both an homage to the film and a personal love letter to a life in theatre and dance, it enthralled audiences and earned critical acclaim when it premiered in 2016 and toured in 2017.
The production returned to Milton Keynes Theatre in 2020, but the tour was cut short due to the pandemic, so other venues missed out.
The onstage drama in Bourne’s production plays out to a score arranged by Terry Davies, using the mesmerising music of prolific film composer Bernard Herrmann. Sumptuous sets and stylish costumes come courtesy of Bourne’s long-term collaborator Lez Brotherston.
The cast for the film included flame-haired ballerina Moira Shearer as Victoria, alongside an impressive selection of principals from the Royal Ballet (then Sadler’s Wells Ballet). The cast for this third iteration of Bourne’s production includes dancers who are returning to revive the roles they created in 2016 and dancers who are making role debuts.
Running time: Approximately 2 hours, including an interval.
Age guidance: 7+ (but the story does have some mature themes)
*Production photography Johan Persson.
Matthew Bourne's production of The Red Shoes is at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 February.
Georgina Butler is an editor, a dance writer and a ballet teacher. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GeorginaLButler and Instagram @glbdancewriter
