Matthew Bourne The Red Shoes Tickets

Love ballet? The legendary Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes, a two-Olivier winning, smash hit, is back in the capital for the first time since the pandemic. The cherry on top of the Christmas season at Sadler's Wells, this timeless fairy tale is completely captivating.

The Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes story

Going back a century before the famous Hollywood movie, the story originates with Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. First published in 1845, it tells the tale of a girl forced to dance continually in her red shoes. Like all of his stories it isn't all sweetness and light, it comes with a dark, bleak edge.

In the film and in this production the action is set in London, Monte Carlo and Villefranche-sur-Mer during the late 1940s to the early '50s. You'll meet Victoria Page, who was born to dance. She is talent-spotted by Boris Lermontov, who commissions Julian Craster to compose a special ballet in her honour based on Hans Christian Andersen's children's story The Red Shoes. Victoria falls in love with Craster and ultimately finds herself trapped between her love and her career. Flip-flopping between the men, confused and distressed, she falls under a train while fleeing from Lermontov.

About Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes

The ballet, which won 2017's Oliviers for Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Entertainment, had its world premiere at Plymouth's Theatre Royal in late 2016 before arriving in London for its festive season at the Sadler's Wells and onwards for a UK tour. In the USA it premiered in 2017 before taking off around the nation. At the Sadler's Wells once more during 2019, in 2020 covid ended the season early. By then it had already become a classic.

The ballet marks Bourne's company New Adventures' 23rd Christmas run at the venue, the culmination of a two decade ambition to bring the 1948 Powell and Pressburger movie to the stage. The audience response is always overwhelmingly good, no surprise when as well as its two Olivier Awards it won an LA Critics Awards for choreography, set and costume design.

Expect a magical drama created to perfection, telling the story of what happens when two obsessions clash. This lush ballet will delight your senses while breaking your heart.

Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes cast and creatives

The score is orchestrated by Terry Davies, with original music by the Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann. Lez Brotherston is responsible for the set and costumes, Paule Constable for the lighting, and Paul Groothuis for the sound.

Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes is an unforgettable blend of dance, drama and storytelling that brings the classic story to life. This production is a must-see for lovers of both ballet and powerful theatrical experiences.