Ballet Shoes review – National Theatre 2025
- Sarah
- Dec 30, 2025
- 3 min read
★★★★★
This Ballet Shoes review covers the 2025 National Theatre production at the Olivier Theatre.
We used to have a Boxing Day tradition: coats on, theatre tickets in hand, a shared sense that Christmas wasn’t quite finished until we’d seen a show. After my mother died, that ritual quietly slipped away. This year, we decided to reclaim it — and Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre turned out to be exactly the right place to do so. Warm, playful and emotionally generous, it reminded me how theatre can hold both memory and joy at the same time.
From the very beginning, this production makes it clear that it wants its audience with it, not at arm’s length. Before the show has even started, the ensemble spill into the auditorium, gently coaxing us through ballet arm positions and pliés. It could have felt awkward; instead, it was met with delighted cooperation from a visibly happy crowd. Children copied earnestly, adults laughed at themselves, and the room softened instantly. By the time we were back in our seats, we already felt part of the world on stage.
Noel Streatfeild’s story remains at the heart of things. All four girls arrive under Great Uncle Matthew’s (affectionately known as GUM) unconventional guardianship, their talents slowly revealing themselves: Pauline’s hunger for performance, Petrova’s fierce love of engines and mechanics, Posy’s almost instinctive gift for dance, and the quiet resilience that binds them together. GUM’s periodic disappearances — always half‑explained, always theatrical — are played for maximum comic impact by Justin Salinger, but they also allow the girls to grow into independence, necessity sharpening ambition.
There are changes from the book, and they’re thoughtfully judged. The household now has only one educator lodger; her life partner, rather than also lodging with them, has died, which subtly shifts her role from comic clutter to something more grounded and tender, along with a message about how lesbians couldn't be legally partnered/married at that time. A chauffeur — not present in the novel — is introduced, as is his eventual marriage to GUM's great‑niece, Sylvia. It’s a narrative invention, but a clever one, giving Petrova’s obsession with cars real texture and forward momentum. It also gently anchors Petrova’s dreams in the practical world of grease, gears and work.
Dance is woven through the production with intelligence rather than excess. The standout moments belong to the young Russian dancer, Madame Fidolia, portrayed in adulthood by Justin Salinger (who also plays GUM) and in youth by Xolisweh Ana Richards. Their precision and presence stop the show cold without ever feeling showy. Every movement tells you something about discipline, longing and control.
The finale lands beautifully. GUM reappears, full of improbable authority, the girls are off to various new destinations and careers. GUM asks Petrova where she’d like to be if she could choose anywhere in the world. Her answer — Croydon — drew laughter and cheers. Sitting there, we found ourselves wondering how many people in the audience knew that Croydon Aerodrome was once the largest airport in the country: a quietly fitting historical echo for a story so concerned with flight, ambition and leaving home. Of course, living in Croydon ourselves, we knew that! (our fellow blog writers; Jeremey Simmonds, Tina Chen, and Michelle Mamood also reside in South Croydon).
This is generous family theatre: alert to its source, confident in its storytelling, and unafraid of warmth. Resuming our Boxing Day tradition with Ballet Shoes felt not just comforting, but right.
Cast: Nina Cassells (Pauline), Sienna Arif-Knights (Petrova), Scarlett Monahan (Posy), Justin Salinger (GUM & adult Madame Fidolia), Xolisweh Ana Richards (young Madame Fidolia), Anoushka Lucas (Sylvia), Lesley Nicol (Nana), with ensemble.
Venue & Dates: Olivier Theatre, National Theatre. 25 November 2025 – 21 February 2026.
