The National Theatre’s acclaimed production of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, adapted by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd will embark on a major UK and Ireland tour, beginning in August 2027.
In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and discovering who they want to be. Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their new guardians 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?
Joining Rudd in the creative team are set designer Frankie Bradshaw, costume designer Samuel Wyer, choreographer Ellen Kane, composer Asaf Zohar, lighting designer Paule Constable, sound designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph, video designer Ash J Woodward and casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG. Gavin Sutherland provides dance arrangements and orchestrations and Chris Fisher is responsible for the illusions.
Anton Du Beke will star as Great Uncle Matthew and Fidolia at selected venues and dates. He is one of the UK’s best loved and most accomplished entertainers – a professional ballroom dancer, a singer, an author and television presenter and NTA Award winning TV Judge who has been captivating audiences for almost 20 years.
The Ballet Shoes tour will open at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre where it plays 17th to 21st August 2027, before touring to Sadler’s Wells in London, Norwich Theatre Royal, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Theatre Royal Nottingham, Birmingham Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse, King’s Theatre in Glasgow, Chichester Festival Theatre, Bristol Hippodrome and Sunderland Empire. It will have a festive season at The Lowry in Salford Quays, before continuing to tour in 2028 to Oxford New Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Milton Keynes Theatre and Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. Further dates and venues are to be announced, and check individual venue websites for scheduled appearance by Anton Du Beke.
