New Adventures has announced full casting for the much-anticipated world premiere of Matthew Bourne’s version of The Red Shoes, due to begin a UK tour at the Plymouth Theatre Royal in November.
Cordelia Braithwaite and Katrina Lyndon will join the previously announced Ashley Shaw in the central role of ambitious dancer Victoria Page. All three featured in Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty last festive season, Shaw and Braithwaite previously shared the role of Aurora, while Lyndon – who will make her principal role debut at certain performances of The Red Shoes – was part of The Sleeping Beauty company.
Sam Archer, who created the title role in Edward Scissorhands in 2005, returns to New Adventures to play the Svengali-like impresario Boris Lermentov. One of New Adventures’ finest leading men, Chris Trenfield, will also play Lermentov and takes on the role of the man Victoria falls in love with, Julian Kraster. Sharing the role of Julian will be another of New Adventures’ most popular dancers, Dominic North (The Car Man, Sleeping Beauty), and rising star Andrew Monaghan who has debuted leading roles in shows including Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.
Olivier Award-winning Liam Mower (Billy Elliot) will take on his seventh principal role with New Adventures when he takes on the part of Ivan Boleslawsky, along with another company favourite, Danny Reubens (Lord of the Flies).
The principal cast also includes: Glenn Graham (Swan Lake); Nicola Kabera (Sleeping Beauty); Michela Meazza (Dorian Gray, Edward Scissorhands); Anjali Mehra (Swan Lake); and Leon Moran (Sleeping Beauty).
Completing the cast are: Steph Billers, Will Bozier, Jack Jones, Daisy May Kemp, Phil King, Dominic Lamb, Kate Lyons, Joe Walkling and Katie Webb. Joshua Harriette (Ballet Black, Michael Clark Company) and Seren Williams (Ballet Central graduate) will both be making their debuts with New Adventures in this production.
Widely regarded as a British movie classic, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s visually stunning film The Red Shoes is often cited as one of the best dance movies of all time.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale, The Red Shoes is the story of a gifted young dancer whose dream of becoming a prima ballerina with a leading ballet company ends in tragedy.
A Broadway musical version of the film directed by Stanley Donen with music by Jule Styne and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman debuted in 1993.
Bourne’s brand new adaptation returns to the film as source and reunites the innovative choreographer with his regular New Adventures associate artists and the team behind the worldwide hit Sleeping Beauty: Lez Brotherston (set and costumes); Paule Constable (lighting) and Paul Groothuis (sound design).
The production is set to a new score arranged by New Adventures associate artist Terry Davies, based on the distinctive work of the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann, famous for his collaborations with master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock.
Premiering at the Plymouth Theatre Royal from Monday 21 November until Saturday 26 November, the show will move on to The Lowry, Manchester (Tuesday 29 November-Saturday 3 December); London’s Sadler’s Wells (Tuesday 6 December-Sunday 29 January 2017); Woking’s New Victoria Theatre (Tuesday 31 January-Saturday 4 February); The Hippodrome, Birmingham (Tuesday 7 February-Saturday 11 February); Milton Keynes Theatre (Tuesday 14 February-Saturday 18 February); Norwich Theatre Royal (Tuesday 21 February-Saturday 25 February); Nottingham Theatre Royal (Tuesday 7 March-Saturday 11 March); Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (Tuesday 14 March-Saturday 18 March); The Mayflower, Southampton (Tuesday 21 March-Saturday 25 March); The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (Tuesday 28 March- Saturday 1 April); The Hippodrome Theatre, Bristol (Tuesday 4 April-Saturday 9 April); New Wimbledon Theatre, Wimbledon (Tuesday 11 April-Saturday 15 April); Marlow Theatre, Canterbury (Tuesday 25 April-Saturday 29 April); Theatre Royal, Newcastle (Tuesday 2 May-Saturday 6 May); Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (Tuesday 9 May-Saturday 13 May); and The Curve, Leicester (Tuesday 16 May-Saturday 20 May).
Angela Thomas
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