Ballet story is beautiful piece of theatre

The Red Shoes at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

MATTHEW Bourne has always had a cinematic eye. In celebration of his company New Adventures’ 30th year, he has chosen to turn his attention to adapting one Britain’s most beloved cinematic masterpieces to the stage.

The classic film about ballet has now become a ballet. Centred around the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name, The Red Shoes is the story of dancer Victoria Page, who is prepared to give up everything for her art, as well as an obligatory love triangle – representing the struggle between love and art – between the lead and her ruthless director Lermontov and young composer Julian Craster.

Ashley Shaw is perfect as Victoria Page and Sam Archer is sophisticatedly Mephistophelian as the strict ballet director.

A ballet company is an ensemble, yet the subtle and endearing relationship between Liam Mower’s Ivan Boleslawsky and Joe Walkling as Lermontov’s assistant Dimitri – a Bourne addition – stands out among the cast.

The Ballet of The Red Shoes, the ballet within the ballet, is an artistic centrepiece – Bourne has updated the titular ballet to a monochrome gangster world against a German expressioniststyle background and back-projected silhouette. Bourne’s use of cinema also comes in to play with the use of Bernard Herman’s music; orchestrator Terry Davies has formed Herman’s music into a ballet’s score that provides The Red Shoes with drama, suspense and dream-like qualities.

Lez Brotherston’s sets glide on and off stage as if they were part of the cast; and the onstage proscenium arch inventively twirls around to represent onstage and backstage.

I was worried that the second act would be a slight let down, but the dramatic denouement banished any concerns towards that end. Bourne’s version of The Red Shoes stays faithful to the film but is different enough to be its own, beautiful piece of theatre.

The Red Shoes is at the Wales Millennium Centre until Saturday, March 18. Call 029 2063 6464.

Chris Williams