Anna Burnside reviews the tour of acclaimed choreographer Matthew Bourne’s latest adaptation.
A ballet adaptation of a 1948 film about a ballet has not, on the surface, got ‘blockbuster’ written all over it. But Matthew Bourne has done more than any other choreographer in the UK to put dance in front of mainstream audiences across the country.
His take on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Oscar-winning melodrama is more straightforward than, say, his all-male Swan Lake. Here he does something more subtle, even meta. He shows the process of creating a ballet - then puts it on stage.
A lot of this heavy lifting is done by Bourne’s long-time collaborator Lez Brotherston’s brilliant revolving set frame. On one side it’s the red velvet curtains the audience sees. When it turns around, we see the tatty lining, the flats, the performers bitching and stretching.
When the action moves to Monte Carlo, projections and the addition of a mirror representing the sea perform a clever reset.
Cordelia Braithwaite does a tremendous job as the wearer of the enchanted ballet pumps, but one of Bourne’s huge strengths is to use the chorus to give texture, atmosphere and context. There’s a wonderful party scene where the nervous Braithwaite meets impresario Boris Lermontov for the first time.
The chorus’s stiff, jerky moves tell us everything we need to know about this stuffy gathering.
Backstage at the London music hall, the woeful Egyptian comedy act, creepy ventriloquist and pushy showgirls instantly create that seedy world.
Add in a deliciously lush score and Bourne has another shoe-in on his hands.
The Red Shoes is at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow until January 31, 2026. It continues its UK tour until May, with a stop at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from April 14-18, 2026. For further details, go to the production’s website.
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