Ballet Shoes Tickets

Ballet Shoes, the best selling 1936 children’s book by Noel Streatfeild, is being brought to dazzling, delightful life on stage at the National Theatre. This is the novel’s first major stage adaptation, a festive treat for the whole family you won’t want to miss.

Ballet Shoes - The Story

The setting is an old house full of collections of dinosaur bones and fossils. The stars are three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy, who are discovering who they are and figuring out what they want to be in life. Pauline finds she is a talented actor. Petrova wants to learn to fly aircraft, and Posy is passionate about dancing.

Their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and a group of unlikely lodgers observe as the girls fight to realise their passions. But the world back then wasn’t built for women, especially females with ambition, who were supposed to stay quiet, be obedient, and be seen but rarely heard. Can the girls create a future worth having, and keep the family together? When their Great Uncle Matthew finally comes home from his expedition, years later, he barely recognises the children he left behind.

Ballet Shoes Cast and Creative Team

Katy Rudd, whose work on The Ocean at the End of the Lane was so outstanding, is back at the National Theatre to direct this beautiful re-imagining of Streatfeild’s beloved novel, her first book for children, illustrated by her sister Ruth Gervis. The story was runner up for the first ever Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, the best British children's book of the year written by a British subject.

The stars of the show are Melanie-Joyce Bermudez (Petrova Fossil), Sonya Cullingford (Winifred), Jenny Galloway (Nana), Nadine Higgin (Theo Dane), Helena Lymbery (Doctor Jakes), Xolishweh Ana Richards (Ballerina), Sid Sagar (Jayan Saravanan), Grace Saif (Pauline Fossil), Justin Salinger (GUM) and Daisy Sequerra (Posy Fossil). The ensemble members are Eryck Brahmania, Cordelia Braithwaite, Michelle Cornelius, Courtney George and Georges Hann.

The set design is by Frankie Bradshaw, costume design by Samuel Wyer, choreography by Ellen Kane, and composition by Asaf Zohar. The lighting design comes from Paule Constable, with sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, casting by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor and associate choreography by Jonathan Goddard. The director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris is thrilled to stage Noel Streatfeild’s timeless story, injected with new energy by Kendall Feaver.

Ballet Shoes promises a heartwarming story of three orphaned sisters chasing their dreams to life with captivating performances, rich storytelling and the magic of live theatre this festive season.