National Theatre Ballet Shoes...

[CurlewKate]

Anyone seen it yet?

Does anyone know how we find out if NT are recording it for cinema, for those of us in the shires and provinces?

Apparently it is. I know someone whose ticket says that the show will be recorded.

I found it a bit high-pitched and shrieky, so much so that I switched off my hearing aids and could still hear everything. It’s all a bit over-acted and over-produced, clearly aimed at a pre-teen and tween-age audience, I think. That said, I enjoyed it, and the sets, costumes and production values were excellent.

Whens it currently due to run until?

I have secret knowledge that my dd has bought tickets for me for Christmas both of us to go in January.

I'm not totally sure that it was a selfless act from her. 😁

22 February.

I saw it last night. Absolutely brilliant- lots of men in tutus in the ensemble. Not sure why one is being mentioned, there are three.

Well cast with beautiful set design and fabulous scenery changes.

It was utterly enchanting.

I'm going with my big sisters next week. Ages 65 to 77!

Two of us loved it as children, one hadn't read it till this year because as a girl anything without horses wasn't worth reading.

Very excited!

I wanted to go but couldn't justify the expense.
Also we went to a production last year and there was a technical hitch. We had ice skating booked and just couldn't wait any longer for the show so we missed about 30 mins.
They gave no apologies at all and we travelled in out of London.
Zilch which I felt was extremely poor.

I m all for colour blind acting/age blind we saw macbeth with sir Ian mckellen but this sounds like a step too far

Would this be suitable for a 9 year old? She has read the book and loved it but this sounds like quite a grown up production.

I saw Ballet Shoes last night and loved it. Having a man in the corps did look out of place but didn't bother me. The Madame I thought was a clever way to save money as GUM has little to do otherwise, so playing both roles I felt worked.
Very clever set and the movement was very slick. I would go again.

@HonorRory but why couldn’t GUM be played by a woman? That would make far more sense. GUM only pops in and out in the book. I’m really not impressed by that casting - taking the role away from a middle aged woman doesn’t sit well with me.

But you would happily take it away from a middle-aged man! Where is the equality in that?

Every single performer was superb in their role, with a special mention for Nadine Higgin's magnificent performance as Theo Dane.

It is suitable for a 9-year-old if you are prepared to pay £100 a ticket. There are no child performers; all adults play younger. Two girls sat behind me, about 7 and 9, and both were sleepy, asking their mum questions, wanting sweets/drinks, etc. I'd say they were too young. Wait for NT Live performance to come around next year.

£100 a ticket was for stall seats. In the Olivier Theatre, circle seats are cheaper, and concessions are available for some performances. Some parts of the performance use the stalls for entrances and to engage with the cast during scenes, which may be challenging to see in circle seats. Also, the cast is in the stalls engaging with the audience, getting them to do ballet movements before the show. I'm not sure if that was happening in the circle as well.

Good god, do you know how hard it is for middle aged women to get acting parts? It’s a huge struggle, and given parts are already scarce, they shouldn’t be given to men.

I am looking forward to it, going on my own one mo day in January for £25. Right in the back row next to the aisle. Which us often handy fir being first for toilets lol

@WynterQueen "
"But you would happily take it away from a middle-aged man! Where is the equality in that?"
1.There are plenty of parts for middle aged men.

1. If you're going to take a part away from

a middle aged woman there has to be a damned good reason. And nobody has explained to me what this brings to the production. And the men in the ensemble? Why?

I saw it last week and totally loved it! The men in the tutus didn't bother me at all - I think they just wanted all the dancers to look the same regardless of sex. To make you laugh, I was so into it that I didn't even realise that Madam Fidolia was played by a man until I looked at the cast list afterwards - s/he was just a character in the story. The set is fabulous. There are some really funny bits and the dancing is gorgeous. I came out with a huge smile on my face.

They can't fit absolutely everything in and they have changed a couple of things but overall, it was really lovely!

I loved it, great entertainment. Was true to the spirit of the book IMO and included some key scenes I’d forgotten. The changes made sense for the stage.

The ‘Madame’ part actor was good but it’d have been better played by a woman. It’s an older woman’s part, not a ‘middle aged’ part. There were also several other good parts played by middle aged or older women.

It included a wonderful, moving ballet performance by the younger ‘madame’, the young woman dancing was so expressive, loved that bit.

Our tickets were a lot less than £100, but perhaps it’s the expensive ones now left!

I enjoyed it enormously. I wish they’d cast a dancer who could act, rather than an actor who could dance, as Posy, and I would have cast a woman as GUM / Madame Fidolia / Manoff, but those are quite minor niggles. I thought the actor playing Fidolia was great, it was just the principle that bothered me.

I'm going in a few weeks. One of the cast works for me in his other job, and he got us cheap tickets. 12 year old DS is a bit grumbly about it but it's good for him to not only be interested in lego and football. I'm glad to hear it's good. I also loved the book!

hadn’t realised the same actor was GUM/Madame! He was good.

It was a fabulously staged production and I enjoyed it. But I think I might have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been such a fan of the book.

For me, the joy in the book was immersing myself in the lives of the girls, plus the other residents on the house.

I loved the passage of time and how the individual talents or interests developed as they grew up. I understand of course that's much more difficult to convey within the confines of a stage play, but I was sad that the passage of time wasn't reflected more in the portrayal of the Fossils.

It was also a story very firmly about women and girls. The male characters were peripheral. I was disappointed that this wasn't allowed to stand in the production. I didn't understand why male performers were needed for female roles. And yes, I remember at least one instance of a female actor playing a male role, but again I didn't understand why. I have seen so many plays with either entirely or mostly male casts that it was frustrating that this one about women couldn't reflect that in the casting.

DS - 17, never been near a ballet shoe in his life - loved it. DD (dancer and mega fan of the book) and I loved it too. It's beautifully staged and very well adapted.

We all adored the show - it was also our first trip to the national theatre and we'll definitely be back.
Great sightlines even from the back of the theatre, loved accessing the terrace in the interval too with great views along the river etc.