7 November – 19 January
What’s wrong with wanting to dance?’
Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world, or so they say.
When an orphaned young woman is taken in by some local do-gooders, she is expected to be seen and not heard. Dazzled by a pair of beautiful shoes, she sees the chance to do and be so much more, but soon her feet betray her, taking her to places she does not wish to go.
This Christmas, get up close to the magic as playwright Nancy Harris brings Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy tale into the 21st century in the intimate surroundings of the Swan Theatre.
Directed by Kimberley Rampersad (Associate Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, Canada) in her RSC debut, The Red Shoes is both a magical story and cautionary tale of pride, vanity and how we all deserve to dance how we wish to dance.
This production of The Red Shoes, written by Nancy Harris, is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Danish poet, author and playwright, Hans Christian Andersen.
The Red Shoes was first published on 7 April 1845 in the third collection of Andersen’s New Fairy Tales (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind), which gained him huge critical acclaim. Eleven tales were published across three collections between 1843 and 1845, including his much loved tales The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen.
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Running time: 2 hrs 25 mins (including a 20 mins interval)
Image credit: Seamus Ryan
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
