Matthew Bourne’s Red Shoes at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham.
A new adventure for me this evening, in more ways than one. You see, this is my first time attending a ballet, a performance of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventure’s – Red Shoes, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. (I’m late to the party I know.)
The theme at the heart of the story is obsession – an aspiring ballet dancer by the name of Victoria Page has to choose between her blossoming career as a dancer (zealously encouraged by demanding director and impresario Boris Lermontov), and her burgeoning romance with struggling composer Julian Croster. It is a choice she has to make between her art and her heart, about ambition, its seduction, and ultimately its cost. It is a tale adapted from a story first told by Hans Christian Anderson (De røde sko) back in 1845, which made its way onto film in 1948. This double Olivier award winning stage production is in Nottingham for one week only, and I for one cannot wait to see it. I’ve done my homework too – I’ve researched the story and the characters so that know what’s going on. In the absence of words, I want to be sure that I have an idea of who’s who and what is happening.
The performers invest the narrative with remarkable emotional clarity, even though no dialogue is uttered. Cordelia Braithwaite as Victoria charts a compelling transformation from wide-eyed naïve ambition to destructive self-obsession, using her body as a perfect storytelling instrument. Every movement speaks of its motivation – joy ripples through early leaps, while later sequences harden into something frantic, paranoid and unforgiving. Dominic North plays her lover Julian, mirroring and challenging this journey, giving a totally charming performance.
The commanding impresario Boris Lermontov (Andy Monaghan), has authority etched into every stride. Katrina Lyndon is wonderfully funny as the ageing Prima Ballerina Irina Boronskya, and Will Bozier as her partner Ivan brings an arch campness which is to die for. Glenn Graham’s ballet master has such an expressive face that it is hard to take my eyes off him! What strikes me most as a newbie (and it may seem silly to say this) is how powerfully the performers act through dance. The whole thing brings to mind the magnificent art of mime – faces, shoulders, even the angle of a foot, carry meaning that beg to be understood. The performers communicate through tension, release, and connection. Duets unfold like conversations, full of longing, resistance, and surrender. It is quite the artform.
Design, as you might hope, amplifies the drama. Sets (by Lez Brotherston) slide and revolve, creating a sense of travel and transformation that keeps the pace up. The spinning proscenium that allows us to see front and back of house of the play within the play is especially clever. Brotherston’s costumes do narrative work too, shifting identities and eras with elegant economy. We skip from London to Monte Carlo and back again. Paule Constable’s lighting turns every leap into a beautiful photograph.
Bernard Herrmann’s score, with orchestration by Terry Davies, has a sweeping, old-Hollywood richness that perfectly complements Bourne’s cinematic vision and movement.
As someone encountering ballet for the first time, I’m surprised by how immediate and natural it all seems. I don’t feel I’m missing anything. I’m glad I’d done my homework in advance though – I’d recommend you do the same to get maximum enjoyment out of the performance. When the tragedy reaches its conclusion (spoiler alert: there is no happy ending this evening), the final moments are served up as consequence devastatingly deserved. Passion here is a force that devours. The pursuit of performance perfection is merciless.
Bourne’s The Red Shoes proves itself to be a perfect introduction to ballet; I recommend it.
