Ballet Shoes review: a feelgood family show
Every young girl dreams of becoming a ballerina - this show tells the next generation that their dreams can become a reality.
Ballet Shoes is a children’s book first published in 1936 - despite a few edits, it still stands the test of time today.
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It follows three girls, who are unrelated by birth. Instead they are connected through their madcap great uncle Matthew, with the nickname Gum.
Gum, who spends a lot of time going on crazy adventures, goes missing for 12 years, leaving the children with orphan Sylvia.
We watch the children grow up and discover their ambitions, all with the help of the tenants who live in the house. One is a car enthusiast, another is a doctor and the third is a dancer. Each picks up one of the sisters and encourages them to develop their skills.
They become stars of the stage and screen and bring money into their struggling family.
The team on stage are young dancers themselves - they mingled with the crowd before the show, with children in their own fluffy dresses starstruck by the dancers.
There’s plenty of music throughout, though it’s not a musical. The dancing is superb - it’s not all ballet, there’s plenty of other styles too.
It’s funny, with spectacular sets - exactly the quality you’d expect from the National Theatre.
For once, it’s nice to watch a play without an enemy. There’s no bad guy in this, instead we learn to love the whole cast.
The star of the show for me was Lesly Nicol, best known for playing Mrs Patmore in Downton Abbey. She plays Nana in this show, a character very similar to the cook we all adored in the BBC series.
It’s a real joy to watch Ballet Shoes in its second year at the National Theatre - it’s the perfect pre-Christmas treat.
Ballet Shoes runs at the National Theatre until 21st February.