The Red Shoes

Matthew Bourne’s

The Red Shoes

Salford

25^th to 29^th November 2025

With the Christmas trees and decorations outside and the theatre lobby strewn with decoration, there was a delightful buzz in the auditorium as the curtain went up on Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes. The Red Shoes is a double Olivier Award-winning production based on the classic Powell and Pressburger film and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. The story is about a young ballerina who in caught between the man she loves and the man who inspires her to excel. She is a passionate and ambitions girl who wants to be the very best. Matthew Bourne say that the main message of The Red Shoes is that nothing matters but art.

Ashley Shaw is exquisite as Victoria Page (Vicky) the girl who dreams of becoming the best ballerina in the world. Ashley serves us some breath-taking dancing that went graceful to frantic, but she retained her elegance throughout. Andy Monagham plays the controlling ballet impresario ‘Boris Lermontov’, who ruthlessly runs a ballet company. He has an eye for Vicky but expects loyalty and devotion to him and the arts. His presence on the stage paints a bold powerful image. Vicky falls in love with Julian Craster. Dominic North plays the love-struck composer. Dominic gives us some impressive dancing as he tries in vain to keep the love between him and Vicky alive. Matthew Bourne has created some beautiful choreography mixing ballet with contemporary, and I’m sure we spotted some great fosse-esque moves in the London dance scene from this cast of very talented dancers.

Set and costume designer Lez Brotherston has collaborated with many of Matthew Bourne's productions, but this is arguably one of his best and most beautiful. The costumes are divine and wouldn’t be out of place on a Parisian runway. He created some dynamic staging with a proscenium arch that moved around the stage was genius, as it enable the audience to distinguish the drama from both in front and behind the scenes. Lez Brotherston truly give us a masterclass in his art. The lighting and projections by Paule Constable also added to the atmosphere and ambiance of the production, whether a trendy London nightclub or a bright sun-drenched beach or a maddening projection of time passing by.

Whilst the sets, dancers’ costumes and lighting were all top notch, we felt it was style of story. Whilst each scene was beautiful to watch, transporting us to Monte Carlo, London and Paris, but why we were there wasn’t as obvious. If we hadn’t been aware of the film, we may have struggled with the storyline and characters.

This is a wonderful piece of theatre– full of passion, drama and beautiful choreography. You may or may not know what is going on but the view will no doubt still please. Playing at the Lyric theatre at the Lowry until Saturday 29^th November.

Book now via below.

The Red Shoes | Lowry