Review: London Children’s Ballet’s Anne of Green Gables – West End worthy
Georgina Butler sees London Children’s Ballet’s ‘riveting revival’ of Anne of Green Gables, and notes that Anne dreams boldly… as does LCB.
| Title | Anne of Green Gables |
| Company | London Children’s Ballet |
| Venue | Peacock Theatre, London |
| Date | 2 July 2025 |
| Reviewer | Georgina Butler |
Let your imagination take flight and heed this pinky promise: London Children’s Ballet’s riveting revival of Anne of Green Gables is unquestionably West End worthy.
Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s red-headed hurricane of a character was first introduced to readers in 1908, but everything about Anne Shirley’s antics – the ups and downs as she disturbs the steady rhythm of humdrum rural life by dancing to the beat of her own drum – is truly timeless. Anne (with an ‘e’) is an eleven-year-old orphan who arrives in the tight-knit community of Avonlea expecting to be adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, two middle-aged siblings. Unfortunately, they were expecting a strong-bodied boy to help on their farm, Green Gables, not a strong-willed slip of a girl.
Intelligent and imaginative, yet starved of love, Anne captivates the Cuthberts with her radical optimism and steadfast refusal to believe that life should be anything but extraordinary. She opens up about the trauma she has experienced and, overcome by compassion, they decide to keep her. Anne is a resilient dreamer, a fierce protector, a wild spirit. She has integrity and her heart is in the right place, but she makes mistakes. Still, she transforms every disappointment into an adventure.
Anne brings wonder into the lives of those around her. Her idiosyncratic and infectious perspective means she pioneers a rebellion against a world that is determined to drain the magic out of everything. This is what creatives – artists, writers, musicians, actors, singers, dancers – strive to do. They notice details that others rush past, maintain a sense of awe, play with ideas, change how we look at things. They remind us of our humanity by reassuring us that we can thrive as our authentic selves.
Given the right environment and the opportunity to spread their wings, children are capable of far more than grown-ups often give them credit for. London Children’s Ballet proves this every time its cohorts of youngsters take to the stage at London’s Peacock Theatre, leaving the dancers’ committed families and friends, the wider theatregoing public, high-profile patrons and reviewers beyond impressed. Anne of Green Gables, tweaked with fresh choreography since its first outing in 2022, perfectly demonstrates that this remarkable company takes creativity and the beauty of finding a home – not just reaching a geographic destination, but claiming a space to connect with kindred spirits – seriously.
Founded by Lucille Briance in 1994 and now led by co-artistic directors Ruth Brill and Jenna Lee, London Children’s Ballet (LCB) is a unique charity that aims to inspire children from all backgrounds and introduce new audiences to ballet. Each year, following competitive open auditions, 50 or so young dancers are invited to unite as a company and perform in a professionally produced full-length ballet at a West End theatre. An additional 50 or so dancers are selected for LCB’s touring companies, which take a specially adapted version of the stage production out into the community. Significantly, LCB does not discriminate on grounds of height, shape or income – children are chosen based on their ability and participation is free of charge.
As audiences have come to expect from LCB, Anne of Green Gables is an uplifting narrative ballet that gives every member of the cast (there are 54 dancers, aged nine to seventeen, this year) their moment to shine. The fluid and carefully crafted choreography, by Jenna Lee, is characterful and challenging – personality and precision are pre-requisites for every expressive moment. Pleasingly, each cast member revels in the chance to not merely dance, but instead entirely inhabit their role. Or roles, as many of these talented performers embody different characters in different scenes. The score, by Gus Nicholson (who had never written for dance before composing this ballet), is vivid and transporting, with new sections of music added in this revival for the new characters: a bluebird and the angels. What a treat for dancers and theatregoers alike that it is all played live under Philip Hesketh’s baton.
The scenario begins at Avonlea train station (Elin Steele’s versatile set seamlessly adapts to all the locations). Overseen by the station master (13-year-old Alfie Gallagher), the concourse is teeming with lively countryfolk who the porter (12-year-old Manon Rawson) darts between. Following plenty of hustle and bustle, Anne Shirley (15-year-old Amelie French) bounds into view, eagerly stepping off the train and onto the platform, signature red plaits swinging.
Amelie French wears her heart on her sleeve as feisty-yet-fragile Anne. She possesses not only strong classical technique, high energy and enchanting stage presence, but also an ability to experience Anne’s ever-changing emotions as full-body events. This ensures the audience sees and feels Anne’s courage, sadness, kindness, frustration, excitement, anger and vulnerability.
Gentle Matthew Cuthbert (17-year-old John Holden) arrives at the station prepared to collect a boy but is met – and won over – by a curious girl. John Holden danced in two previous LCB productions (the original Anne of Green Gables in 2022, as neighbour Mr Barry and schoolteacher Mr Phillips, and Snow White in 2023, as Robert, the Queen’s Huntsman) and is now in his second year of professional training at Central School of Ballet. Invited back to LCB as guest artist for this revival, he portrays Matthew’s evolution from painfully shy farmer to affectionate paternal figure through accomplished acting and partnering skills.
Matthew’s self-effacing but steady presence provides a safe space for Anne, whose vivid imagination functions as an armour for her fragility. This is captured with poetic lyricism when, on the way to Green Gables for the very first time, Anne is enthralled by the landscape. She delights in the delicacy of the blossoms and smiles at shining waters. Arms become wafting wings. Hands cross at the wrists, quivering like butterflies. Then flying gives way to swimming. All this mesmerising movement and the majesty of the great outdoors soothes her soul. Matthew sweeps Anne into the air, holding her aloft in a demanding one-armed lift. And a tiny bluebird (10-year-old Folashade Marah), a universal symbol of hope, appears as a new friend.
Of course, Green Gables itself is not an instant sanctuary for Anne. Marilla Cuthbert (15-year-old Phoebe Smart, firm but fair, with natural grace) is shocked when Matthew arrives home with a girl and insists Anne must be sent back to the orphanage. Nosy neighbour Rachel Lynde (14-year-old Farrah Katic, as sassy as they come, with great comedic timing) criticises, and clashes with, Anne. The busybody villagers spill [the tea] into the square in Avonlea – their group gossiping sequence personifies the spread of hearsay through waves of whispers, circles of chitchat and runaway rumours.
The interactions between all the cast members are excellent. While Marilla is teaching Anne to say her bedtime prayers, the girl reveals her tragic past. A striking flashback scene spotlights Little Anne (10-year-old Isabelle Foster) surrounded by fellow sorrowful orphans – portrayed by some of the youngest dancers in the cast. Barefoot (unlike the rest of the characters, who all wear flat ballet slippers), they perform weighty contemporary movements. Bodies are limp. Expressions are lacklustre. No wonder Anne retreats into reverie; life has not been kind to her so far.
Throughout her story, Anne learns valuable lessons about responsibility and belonging. And everyone she meets in Avonlea learns to love and appreciate her for the perfectly imperfect girl that she is. There is so much to smile about as Anne gets into scrapes, fosters deep connections and stands up to bullies. She swears an eternal friendship with Diana Barry (12-year-old Berta Lesmes, who participated in Ella’s Big Chance last year, is charming). And rollicks through rivalry and reconciliation with Gilbert Blythe (13-year-old Illia Bondarenko, brimming with confidence and super springy jumps). Scenes in the schoolroom – where cavorting children cause chaos before class and then perch on stools, hunching over chalkboard slates, their brows furrowed and feet fidgeting – make for especially brilliant ensemble entertainment.
Anne dreams boldly. And so does LCB. The 80-minute ballets produced by LCB are always top-notch and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the work the charity does. Anne of Green Gables is, as Anne would say, lovely. Radiantly lovely. A joy to behold!
Georgina Butler is an editor, a dance writer and a ballet teacher.
Georgina is a first class honours graduate and registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance (BA (Hons), RAD RTS). Following further training at the Royal Ballet School, she also holds the ‘Inspire’ professional development certificate for classical ballet teachers.
Outside of dance, Georgina is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science (BSc (Hons) LSE), a qualified journalist (National Council for the Training of Journalists) and a certified editor (Publishing Training Centre).
Georgina is a fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). This is a professional status awarded in recognition of her expertise in teaching and learning and her commitment to enhancing the student experience.
