The Red Shoes' spellbinding show comes to Sadler's Wells.
When Matthew Bourne was growing up, he fell in love with the theatre. He would wait by the stage doors in the West End to glimpse the stars and collect their autographs. He wrote fan letters to everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Bette Davis – and received replies. And at eighteen years old, he watched his first ballet at none other than Sadler’s Wells.
It feels as though the British choreographer has come full circle with his production of The Red Shoes – moving from fanboy to acclaimed auteur. Running until 18 January 2026, this marks the return of the New Adventures production to Sadler's Wells, before it heads off on a nationwide tour, from Newcastle to Nottingham.
The Red Shoes draws inspiration from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film of the same name, which itself reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy tale. In the story, young dancer Victoria Page is torn between her love for a composer and her ambition to become the greatest dancer. The story explores themes of passion – both on and off stage – as she is told that her love life is distracting her from achieving artistic greatness.
Matthew says: “The film’s genius was to take that highly theatrical world and turn it into a highly cinematic, sometimes surreal, piece of filmmaking. My challenge has been to capture that same surreal, sensual quality within the more natural setting of the theatre. The main message of The Red Shoes is that nothing matters but art.”
Cordelia Braithwaite portrays Victoria Page. Andy Monaghan takes on the role of Boris Lermontov, the formidable ballet impresario. Leonardo McCorkindale brings to life the struggling young composer, Julian Craster.
Cordelia is no stranger to leading roles, having played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and the title role in Cinderella. As Victoria, she charts the character’s journey with nuance. She moves from shy ingénue to assured artist, and finally to her harrowing confrontation with the red shoes. She combines fluidity with athleticism. We admired the precision of her pointe work, to the sense of power and eventual pain in her posture.
Andy captures the ruthless resolve of Lermontov. Meanwhile, Leonardo brings a touch of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly to Julian, blending masculinity with musicality.
Victoria’s chance in the spotlight occurs when Irina Boronskaja, the company’s prima ballerina, suffers from a fall. It's a reminder that sometimes actors really do break a leg. Judi Dench famously ruptured her Achilles tendon during rehearsals for the 1981 West End production of Cats, after all. It paved the way for Elaine Paige to take on Grizabella and create one of her most iconic roles. Here, Irina’s loss is Victoria’s gain.
The play-within-a-play shows Victoria triumphing on stage, and the audience greets her performance with rapturous applause. The result becomes a little meta. Sound Designer Paul Groothuis’ thunderous rhythm of the clapping pours out into the auditorium, and the audience mirrors it back.
The score, orchestrated by Terry Davies, uses the mesmerising music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann, and is sweepingly cinematic.
It’s not often that lighting deserves a special mention, but Lighting Designer Paule Constable has created something remarkable – a blend of German Expressionism with West End wonder. At one point, a spotlight mischievously misbehaves, intentionally failing to catch up with an actor and prompting a ripple of giggles from the audience. It is far cleverer than the Egyptian, Carry On-esque thrusting that plays for slapstick laughs.
Lez Brotherston’s sets and costumes are evocative, channelling old-school glamour with strong symbolism. The set pieces shift from Covent Garden to Monte Carlo, with red velvet curtains revealing and concealing life on and off stage. It is the shoes themselves that become a central character. They are sensual yet and seductive – and dangerously so.
At just two hours, including a twenty-minute interval, the show felt swift. At the end, the audience erupts into applause, with the odd standing ovation. In The Red Shoes, we are watching not just a production, but the fulfilment of a lifelong passion – a former fan no longer writing love letters to his heroes, but creating his own love letter to dance.
GO: Visit www.sadlerswells.com for more information.