Theatre / Keppel and Betty
Review: Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Hippodrome
It is a very smart modern dance production that can so ingeniously combine a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with a classic movie, while scooping up some of Hollywood`s best known soundtrack scores along the way. But Matthew Bourne – surely Britain`s hottest choreographer – has done just that with his latest show.
Victoria Page (danced by Ashley Shaw) is a rising ballet star with a passion to become the greatest dancer in the world, but her ambition forces her to choose between the two men who most inspire her. The magical red shoes first empower her, then control her, before ultimately leading her on a path of self-destruction.
Pics: Johan Persson
The original fairy tale contains a passage that translates along the lines of, “(She) couldn’t resist taking a few dancing steps, and once she began her feet kept on dancing. It was as if the shoes controlled her.” Powell and Pressburger`s visually stunning 1948 film twisted the tale into a much darker and disturbing story of addiction and obsession. Now Bourne has pursued that path still further by adding the haunting, often sinister music Bernard Herrmann composed for Hitchcock and Orson Welles.
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This heady combination is powerful stuff, albeit packed with uplifting dance sequences, a wonderfully imaginative set that constantly questions whether we are viewing the action from front of house or backstage, and a narrative that carries us from sophisticated soirées to the joyous, slightly tipsy joie de vivre of Monte Carlo before dropping us in the seedy East End of London.
There`s a typical Bourne moment of nostalgic wit here, with a very fond sequence evoking Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Some readers might remember their regular Sunday Night at the London Palladium appearances during the 1950s, but for those too young, check out their Egyptian Sand Dance and be astonished at what used to pass for entertainment in those days. Obviously, though, a young Matthew Bourne appreciated them.
The Red Shoes is a hugely enjoyable experience: proper grown-up entertainment that excites on a number of different levels. It combines extraordinarily imaginative choreography that references both classical ballet and muscular Gene Kelly routines. It combines highly evocative music, stunning design, costume, style and wit.
But, whilst it certainly draws on a wide range of disciplines, it always remains more than simply a sum of its parts. This is a production that unmistakably bears Matthew Bourne`s very distinctive signature.
The Red Shoes continues at the Hippodrome until Saturday, April 8. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/matthew-bournes-the-red-shoes/bristol-hippodrome
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