National Theatre Ballet Shoes...

[CurlewKate]

Anyone seen it yet?

My best friend bought me a ticket for my 40th. We aren't going until January though. I'm so bloody excited

Going next week. My original ticket got cancelled. One of my favourite books.

Going on Monday! Really looking forward to it!

I'm surprising my daughter with tickets the day she breaks up from school. I've passed along my love of Ballet Shoes to her and she still listens to the audiobook in bed whenever she's had a bad day. I'm SO excited to see it with her!

Taking my mum for her Christmas pressie on the 21st Dec. Looking forward to it.

If you're taking very young children-it is very loud in places! My adult dd would have been scared when she was little!
And there a couple of bits that might cause some questions....

Please report back! I am reluctant to go as they’ve changed Madame Fidolia to being a man and I’m worried it will change it all.

Oh, have they? That's erm... interesting! I wonder how different that will make it.

It might not make any difference but when I was little I loved that the book was almost devoid of men!

Madame Fidolia is played by a man but is very much a woman! It’s glorious, I loved it.

Absolutely loved it and I think it is suitable for all ages. I’m thinking of going again. Unfortunately my GD aged 13 prefers horror stories.

For me I found Madam Fidolia being played by a man a little problematic. It was brilliantly and sensitively acted, and there was not the slightest hint of drag or campery. But I don't see what it added to the part. All I could think was there are so few parts for older women, and here's one less!

I was less happy with one of the corps being played by a man. They were Madam Fidolia's students-so children- and he was very obviously an adult- his underarm hair was a bit of a giveaway! My dd suggested that they should all have let theirs grow- but we agreed that would never happen, which is perhaps an interesting comment on the nature of femininity!

I also had a bit of an issue with the stereotyping of lesbians. Of course the older bookish brisk single woman was a lesbian and there was the suggestion practical, tomboyish girl was too. Why couldn't Sylvia have ridden off into the sunset with Theo? 😀

I think that's even more annoying Tavi making the character a man!

I loved it. Fantastic adaptation of my favourite children’s book. Didn’t bother me at all that Madame was played by a man. Did not deflect from the story. Excellent staging and cast. Mustard Seed’s “And I” so beautifully captured. Enjoy.

@Schoolmum5 Did you think the casting of madam Fidoliq added anything to the production? And what did you think of having a man in the ensemble?

Wasn't Jai lovely?

@CurlewKate all the ensemble in the school were playing children so it didn’t concern me that one child was played by a man and other “children” played by women. In terms of Madame, I thought the interpretation of the character from the story worked so it didn’t concern me.

I wonder what reason the producers have for doing that?!

Taking my daughter on Friday, really looking forward to it.

@Schoolmum5 fair enough. I think what made me uncomfortable was that the women were playing it as girls- but he was definitely a man. Underarm and facial hair and all! No sense of "young-ing" it down at all.

Once again,I just don't understand why. Identity isn't a theme of the show at all!

Oh, and a warning. The audience is almost entirely women and girls-dd and I were playing "spot the dad". So the loos are very busy!

Desperately hoping a screening will come to some cinemas as for many various reasons we can't get to see it (unless the extend the run again) but would love to see it. My daughter is reading the book (my fave from childhood) and we've not seen the movie yet either, saving for a rainy day!

DD and I are going to this in a couple of weeks, good to know it’s well done. I don’t have a problem with changing the sex of characters -I’ve been to a fair few Shakespeare productions where some of the men are played by women to redress the imbalance of parts a bit - but why anyone would take a part for a middle-aged woman away and give it to a man I can’t fathom!

My friend (very prolific theatrgoer so I respect her opinion!) has been ad says it's excellent.

Yes, taking our DDs in January and so excited! It's one of my best loved children's books. DD2 is good friends with one of the stars which makes it even more special.

I enjoyed it. But it takes some big liberties with the story - and yes, I know a 2h 40m production won't include everything. But, as a purist, some of the changes niggled at me.

I am glad I've seen it, truly. But I separated it from the book as a different and separate thing.

The man in the corps didn't bother me, Madame Fidolia played by a man didn't bother me either (other than the loss of a role for an older woman).

It's worth seeing, the mustard seed bit is brilliant!