Ballet Shoes

Ballet Shoes description

Noel Streatfeild’s best-selling book Ballet Shoes has been adapted for the stage by Kendall Feaver (The Almighty Sometimes), a classic 1936 children's story about three orphaned sisters who follow their dreams of dancing, acting and flying against the odds. What a treat for Christmas!

The show opens at the National Theatre’s Olivier theatre, directed by Katy Rudd, who returns to the National after her critically acclaimed production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

A wonderful cast and creative team

The cast includes Melanie-Joyce Bermudez as Petrova Fossil), Sonya Cullingford as Winifred, Jenny Galloway as Nana, Nadine Higgin as Theo Dane, Helena Lymbery as Doctor Jakes, Xolishweh Ana Richards as Ballerina, Sid Sagar as Jayan Saravanan, Grace Saif as Pauline Fossil, Justin Salinger as GUM and Daisy Sequerra as Posy Fossil. The ensemble includes Eryck Brahmania, Cordelia Braithwaite, Michelle Cornelius, Courtney George and Georges Hann.

The set design is by Frankie Bradshaw, costume design by Samuel Wyer, choreography by Ellen Kane, and composition by Asaf Zohar. The lighting design comes from Paule Constable, with sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, casting by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor and associate choreography by Jonathan Goddard.

A magical children’s story that never grows old

The plot follows three adopted sisters living in a crumbling old house full of dusty scientific collections, learning to forge a future while doing what they can to keep the family together.

Pauline Fossil, the eldest sister by two years, was rescued from a shipwreck. Tomboyish Petrova Fossil is the middle sister, adopted from a young couple who died in Russia. She’s obsessed with engines, planes and cars. Posy Fossil is the youngest sister, a child dancing prodigy whose mother didn’t have time for babies.

Their Great Uncle Matthew –nicknamed GUM – has gone on an expedition and spends years away from home, out of contact. While GUM is away the girls, watched over by their guardian Sylvia, Nana and the lodgers, begin to figure out their destinies, talents and passions. One wants to dance, one wants to act and the third wants to learn to fly aircraft. When Gum finally makes it home, he barely recognises the girls he left behind.

Playing at Olivier Theatre (National Theatre)

South Bank, London, SE1 9PX GB (venue info)

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