The stage version of Noel Streatfeild's novel is a lovely, light-hearted gift of a show, says our reviewer
After The Witches last Christmas, the National Theatre has another seasonal hit on its hands with Ballet Shoes.
It was my duty as a critic, rather than knowledge of the book by Noel Streatfeild, or the TV adaptations, that drew me to it. But I left with a huge smile on my face, thanks to the high spirits and ingenious staging of a show that deserves an afterlife when its run at the National ends in February.
It's the story of three adopted orphan sisters who are all taken in by eccentric palaeontologist Great Uncle Matthew, who soon disappears from their lives when he heads off on a fossil-finding mission. The sisters, surnamed Fossil on a childish whim, are cared for by their nana and a set of colourful lodgers as they come of age in 1930s London.
Their path leads them to a dance and drama school, which doesn't sit too well with tomboy Petrova. She's drawn to engineering, but Posy has a talent for dance that just needs honing and Pauline finds her passion in acting.
The story has a feminist slant, but Kendall Feaver's adaptation wears its feminism lightly. The message - that with grit and determination young people can be anything they want - is wrapped up in a lovely, light-hearted gift of a show that will warm the hearts of children and adults alike.
Feaver and director Katy Rudd could have done it as a musical and it would probably have worked a treat, but as a play it sings.
We delight in the spunky teenage trio - played brilliantly by Yanexi Enriquez, Daisy Sequerra and Grace Saif (convincingly acting younger than their real ages) - as they become showbiz troopers, performing to bring in money in a bid to save the house that they stand to lose if money isn’t forthcoming for its upkeep.
Said house seems a bit big for a poverty-stricken family and the narrative, told across nearly three hours that might try the patience of some younger viewers, sometimes lacks momentum.
But it is told with wonderful stage craft, featuring puppeteered animals, flying harnesses, an hilarious avant-garde staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a rousing routine set to Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing Sing.
Justin Salinger is on double duty as Great Uncle Matthew and retired Russian dancer Madame Fidolia. Ruling the roost at the school the girls attend, the latter could have been a pantomime dame but Salinger plays her like Maggie Smith channelling Norma Desmond. He's the standout in an outstanding cast.
Ballet Shoes is at the National Theatre, London, until 22 February.
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