Picture: Roy Tan
The delayed cinema release of Matthew Bourne’s double Olivier Award-winning production of The Red Shoes has been rescheduled for next month.
Launching in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 30 September 2020, the seventh New Adventures production to be filmed in partnership with More2Screen was filmed live at Sadler’s Wells in January this year.
Commenting on the release of the film, Bourne said: “New Adventures may not be able to perform on stage this year, but I’m thrilled that the UK will be able to experience the magic of our award-winning production of The Red Shoes on the big screen.
“This show was in many ways a love letter to a life in the theatre for me and it seems particularly apt to be able to share it with you at this time. We are extremely proud of this film, which captures the excitement of live performance so powerfully and we trust it will bring a much needed escape for our loyal audiences countrywide.”
Based on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s visually stunning movie classic which was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale, Bourne’s critically acclaimed The Red Shoes showcases a new score arranged by New Adventures associate artist Terry Davies inspired by distinctive work of the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann.
Directed and choreographed by Bourne, the production features cinematic designs by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and projection design by Duncan McLean. Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon and produced by Illuminations.
The story of a gifted young dancer whose dream of becoming a prima ballerina with a leading ballet company ends in tragedy, the production toured the UK last autumn before playing a Christmas season at Sadler’s Welles which ended in January this year.
The production marked Adam Cooper’s return to New Adventures for the first time in two decades. Cooper who first collaborated with Bourne in 1995 to create the iconic role of The Swan in the ground-breaking Swan Lake returned to the company to take on the role of the Svengali-like impresario Boris Lermontov.
Cooper stars opposite New Adventures’ favourite Ashley Shaw (Cinderella) who returned to the central role of Victoria Page after previously starring in the original 2016 world premiere production. Her performance in the debut run of the show earned Shaw the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance 2017.
The production also features returning original cast members and acclaimed New Adventures dancers Dominic North as Craster, Liam Mower as Ivan, Michela Meazza as Irina and Glenn Graham as Grischa.
Angela Thomas
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