Kendall Feaver’s adaptation of Ballet Shoes returns to the National Theatre with much of the original magic intact and, in many ways, even richer in its second life. With a largely new cast but Katy Rudd’s imaginative production restored in full, this revival is an utterly enchanting winter treat – warm, detailed, generous, and brimming with theatrical invention.
The Fossil sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy, aren’t related by blood. Each was found in a different corner of the world by Great Uncle Matthew (Justin Salinger), an eccentric, long-absent professor and palaeontologist whose passion for exploration leaves behind a house filled with fossils. Whilst Matthew is away, and eventually presumed dead, the girls are raised by their guardian Sylvia (Anoushka Lucas) and Nana (Lesley Nicol), and soon joined by three lodgers: dance teacher Theo Dane (Nadine Higgin), the scholarly Dr Jakes (Pandora Colin), and Jai Saran (Raj Bajaj). In this unlikely assortment, the Fossils begin to shape themselves, as artists, dreamers, and, crucially, as a family.
Frankie Bradshaw’s set design is breathtaking. The space suggests both a sprawling West London townhouse and a science museum: towering walls of specimens, deep green panels and a gallery of dinosaur paintings create an atmosphere somewhere between home and exhibition. It’s beautifully evocative, a world where the past is literally embedded in the walls and where every room seems big enough to contain a whole life.
But the real magic is in how theatrical the staging is. Doors glide in on wheels, furniture is reconfigured, scenery is whisked on and off with playful precision. A pair of sails transform the space into a ship, and another moment sees a theatre-within-a-theatre appear at the drop of a curtain. Rudd and Bradshaw lean into the joy of watching a story being built in front of us, celebrating the imaginative possibilities of the stage. Paule Constable’s lighting amplifies this, shifting us seamlessly between the domestic, the dreamlike and the cinematic
What feels especially resonant is the show’s exploration of chosen family. For all the spectacle, Ballet Shoes understands that what holds this house together isn’t its architecture but its people, imperfect, loving, muddling their way forward. By the end, it’s clear that even without the house, and when scattered across the globe, the family they’ve created will stick forever.
There is also a fascinating interplay between science and art. The house is a shrine to ancient histories, to things we can measure and catalogue, yet the children grow increasingly drawn to performance, invention and imagination. Feaver’s script gently asks what we inherit, what we create and how we choose our stories when the past is unknown or obscured.
The ensemble is exceptional, with not a weak link in sight. Justin Salinger, multi-rolling with astonishing dexterity, moves skilfully between characters, completely physically transforming without ever slipping into caricature. Pandora Colin’s Dr Jakes begins crisp and guarded but slowly reveals a tenderness that is deeply moving, particularly as hints of her own past emerge. Anoushka Lucas brings tireless warmth to Sylvia, grounded, overstretched and quietly heroic, while Raj Bajaj is hilarious and heartfelt as Jai Saran, his scenes with Lucas full of playful chemistry. Nadine Higgin radiates charisma as Theo, and Ellen Kane’s choreography gives the production its pulse through delicate pointe work and beautiful sequences that shimmer with imaginative flair.
Asaf Zohar’s compositions and Gavin Sutherland’s orchestrations elevate everything, giving the show a sweeping, filmic quality. The entire piece moves with exhilarating momentum, transitions are seamless, scenes tumble into one another and the pace never slackens. Despite its scale, it feels personal and intimate, whilst also totally spectacular.
While Ballet Shoes springs from a children’s novel, it’s never patronising by any means. It’s a story about growing up too fast, about resilience, about carving out a life when the world is not quite ready for who you want to become. The result is a show that is magical without being saccharine, full of heart but never sentimental.
It is a triumph of craft, imagination and care. A dazzling, tender celebration of family in all its forms. Truly, it’s a joy.
Review by Joseph Dunitz
In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and what they want to be.
Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and some unlikely lodgers, they fight to pursue their individual passions. But in a world that wasn’t built for women with big ambitions, can they forge a future, keep their family together, and even learn a dance or two along the way?
CAST
Sienna Arif-Knights- Petrova Fossil
Julie Armstrong – Ensemble / Understudy Nana and Doctor Jakes
Raj Bajaj – Jai Saran
Rosie Boore – Ensemble / Understudy Petrova
Eryck Brahmania – Prince / Ensemble
Chrissy Brooke – Ensemble
Nina Cassells – Pauline Fossil
Luke Cinque-White – Flyman / Ensemble
Pandora Colin – Dr Jakes
Stephanie Elstob – Swing / Understudy
Sebastian Goffin – Swing / Understudy Prince
Shailan Gohil – Ensemble / Understudy Jai Saran
Mark Hammersley – Ensemble / GUM and Fidolia
Georges Hann – Flyman / Ensemble
Nadine Higgin – Theo Dane
Gracie Hodson-Prior – Winifred
Anoushka Lucas – Sylvia
Scarlett Monahan – Posy Fossil
Kailtyn Moore – Ensemble / Understudy Posy
Lesley Nicol – Nana
Anu Ogunmefun – Ensemble / Understudy Pauline and Winifred
Suzy Osadchyi – Swing / Understudy Katerina Federovksy
Xolisweh Ana Richards – Katerina Federovsky / ensemble
Gabriela Rodriguez – Ensemble
Justin Salinger – GUM / Fidolia
Katie Singh – Ensemble / Understudy Theo and Sylvia
ARTISTIC TEAM
Writer – Noel Streatfeild
Playwright – Kendall Feaver
Director – Katy Rudd
Set Designer – Frankie Bradshaw
Costume Designer – Samuel Wyer
Choreographer – Ellen Kane
Composer – Asaf Zohar
Dance Arrangements and Orchestration – Gavin Sutherland
Lighting Designer – Paule Constable
Sound Designer – Ian Dickinson for Autograph
Video Designer – Ash J Woodward
Illusions – Chris Fisher
Casting Directors – Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG and Martin Poile CDG
Fight Director – Haruka Kuroda
Classical Coach – Cira Robinson
Dialect Coach – Penny Dyer
Voice Coaches – Cathleen McCarron and Zoe Littleton
BALLET SHOES
National Theatre
17 November 2025 to 21 February 2026
