Review of Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes at Milton Keynes Theatre

Sir Matthew Bourne has rightfully become the doyen of accessible contemporary ballet, with his works spanning a wide range, from Swan Lake, Lord of the Flies, and Edward Scissorhands to The Red Shoes, now here at Milton Keynes on an extensive tour.

Based broadly on the 1948 film of the same name, The Red Shoes, set across Europe, follows the story of ballerina Victoria Page, discovered by ballet impresario Boris Lermontov. He requests that a ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Red Shoes be written by the composer Julian Craster, whom Page falls deeply in love with. A conflict arises, and Page must choose between love and success.

The first impact on any audience of The Red Shoes is visually on the costumes and set. This is, without any question, a spectacular staging. Lez Brotherston, responsible for both costumes and set, has created a gem. The striking costumes effectively recreate the period in minute detail, placing the audience very much in the 40s/50s. Alongside this, Brotherston's truly spectacular set tries very much to steal the show with a striking curtain and proscenium arch that rotate and slide, allowing our eyes to know whether we are the front-of-house audience or peering deeply into the behind-the-scenes friction. Truly brilliant.

On this set are, of course, our performers, and, as expected, they are the best of the best, put together by Bourne. The usual rotating ballet cast saw in the leads for this performance: Cordelia Braithwaite as Victoria, Andy Monaghan as Boris, and Dominic North as Julian, and all are beautiful to watch.

Braithwaite has a delicate approach to her character's story, journeying from a bright-eyed youth to the later challenges of love and stardom, trapped by the red shoes' pull. Alongside her, Monagham is more dominant as the discoverer of this new star, controlling, protective, and wary of the love blossoming within the young pair of Page and Craster. North’s composer, Craster, is the polar opposite of the controlling Boris. Struggling financially, he is a quiet soul, more delicate in his emotions and movements.

The large ensemble is sublime to watch and, under Bourne’s exemplary choreography, is rife with subtle nuances of character and movement, many hidden away to one side of the main storytelling. Scenes like in Covent Garden and later in an old music hall are busy with little moments of humour and characterisation, easily missed on first viewing. Watch out especially for the sneaky little ventriloquist's dummy.

Musically, Terry Davies takes the works of legendary composer Bernard Herrmann and brings a continuous orchestral flow to the show, allowing the performers to keep moving.

Some of the storytelling can indeed get muddied during the scenes; however, as ever with Matthew Bourne productions, The Red Shoes is carried to a visual and entertaining high that outweighs any quibbles and is very much worth a watch by anyone, even with a slight persuasion to the world of ballet or contemporary dance.

A balletic cinematic spectacular.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 10th February, 2026 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.

Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday, 14th February 2026.

For further details about Milton Keynes, see their website at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

For further details of the tour, see the website at https://www.new-adventures.net/the-red-shoes

Photographs: Johan Persson