Noel Streatfeild’s beloved 1936 novel Ballet Shoes comes to life in a vibrant and heartwarming production at the Olivier Theatre. With a modern twist on its timeless themes of dreams, resilience, and family, this stylish staging captures the magic of three sisters finding their paths in life. From captivating performances to enchanting costumes and set design, this is a tale that inspires audiences of all ages.
The classic novel comes to the Olivier in a stylish and joyful production
A Review of Ballet Shoes
This production of Noel Streatfield’s classic 1936 novel is joyous and beautifully staged. With a strong message about following your dreams, the story that has charmed several generations of children has been tweaked, slightly, for a modern audience and never feels old-fashioned. Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil are three adopted sisters who were each abandoned by their real parents and taken in (through dramatic circumstances including shipwreck, abseiling accidents and amputation) by Great Uncle Matthew (known as Gum), an elderly palaeontologist who lives with his vast collection of fossils in a rambling house at 999 Cromwell Road. There they are left safely in the care of Nana and Gum’s stepdaughter Sylvia – until Gum fails to return from one of his travels and the household is plunged into genteel poverty. First, they take in lodgers, letting rooms to a lesbian doctor of literature and an Indian mechanic. And the girls will need to earn money, but how?
A series of fortuitous encounters with lodgers and a dancer lead to them enrolling in dance school and discovering their individual talents: Pauline for acting, Petrova for mechanics and Posy for dance. Costumes are a delight: Sylvia in her blouse and dungarees, Russian dance tutor Madame Fidolia swathed in furs and the dancers in colourful and fantasy-led creations. The Cromwell Road house towers on stage with countless corridors and doors and shelves full of specimen jars, an impressive structure. It’s a moving story, illustrating the importance of following your dreams and also of family, with these unrelated sisters forming a close bond in a tale that’s optimistic and life-affirming. The three young leads are great together: Yanexi Enriquez as Petrova, Daisy Sequerra as Posy and Grace Saif as Pauline. Justin Salinger is charasmatic as Gum and as the colourful Madame Fidolia, and Katy Rudd’s direction makes this a stylish production with wide appeal.
Running until 22 February 2025, this captivating production is not to be missed.
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