Matthew Paluch sees the National Theatre production of Ballet Shoes: “it more than brings the book alive – there’s a whole world up for the taking”.
| Title | Ballet Shoes |
| Company | National Theatre |
| Venue | National Theatre |
| Date | 15 January 2025 |
| Reviewer | Matthew Paluch |
Christmas shows in January… mistake? Well, the National Theatre Xmas offering is going strong until late February.
Ballet Shoes, the 1936 novel by Noel Streatfeild, is presented in a new production by playwright Kendall Feaver. The narrative follows three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy, through life’s ups and downs… and obviously, I mostly visited for the ballet bit.
With choreography by Ellen Kane and classical coaching by Cira Robinson, the multimedia show seems in safe hands. And that it is. Also largely down to Katy Rudd’s deft direction, emotionally charged music by Asaf Zohar and Gavin Sutherland (dance arrangements and orchestration) and Frankie Bradshaw’s Sir John Soane-style set. All the creative team and cast should be praised, as they’ve brought the book more than alive – there’s a whole world up for the taking.
Kane has done wondrous work, from inventive scene transitions to a version of Alice in Wonderland within the production itself, a Léonide Massine-inspired A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and heart-wrenching flashbacks of the Russian Revolution. And the dancers seem to revel in the rich, storytelling style choreography she’s gifted them.
The journey of the sisters is a profound one, especially considering the period when the story was written. Three young women, part of an unconventional family set-up, try to find their own identities and forge paths shaped by independence and possibility. It’s life-affirming stuff, far more than just Christmas fodder, and an example of the exemplary work the National Theatre manages to deliver time after time.
The ballet quota is less than the title suggests, but the overriding sentiment is what makes the art form different from most – history, legacy, discipline, rigour, and uncontrollable passion. Of course, other genres have many, if not all of these components, but ballet is perhaps the most tied up in its own foundations. Pros and cons abound…
All the cast offer top-notch performances, but Justin Salinger as Great Uncle Matthew and Madame Fidolia is perhaps my takeaway – especially the character of Fidolia. To many she’ll be a caricature of the (Russian) ballet teacher, but Streatfeild communicates through her the amalgamation of tough love and poetry in motion – ballet itself.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.