A ghoulish new version of Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy tale, The Red Shoes, is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s family offering for the festive season - and it’s quite a Christmas curveball. The play follows the story of Karen, a sixteen-year-old who loves to dance, as she succumbs to the power of a pair of magical shoes…

Hans Christian Andersen’s original story is a cautionary tale, warning against vanity, in which Karen insists on wearing showy, expensive shoes to inappropriate places - eventually getting her comeuppance. Nancy Harris’ new version, first published in 2017 and now relaunched for the RSC production, takes twists and turns away from the original story, deconstructing what we know of fairy tales, from the first ‘Once upon a time…’ to the questionable ‘Happily’ ever after.

In this version, Karen (Nikki Cheung) is orphaned after the death of her mother - it sets the tone for the rest of the play, which begins with a funeral. The family who take her in, the Nugents, are awful - from the odd attentions of her adoptive father, Bob (James Doherty) to her psychopathic, dissection-obsessed adoptive brother Clive (Joseph Edwards).

Although Karen is looked after by the caring but frail housekeeper Mags (Sakuntala Ramanee), her adoptive mother is the cream of the crop - the wicked stepmother-figure Mariella Nugent (Dianne Pilkington), who is vain, jealous and neglectful. She only adopted Karen to win social prestige. She even owns a magic talking mirror!

On the periphery, a strange and charismatic presence is pulling the strings, in the form of Sylvestor (Sebastien Torkia), a shoemaker who creates marvellous shoes that can fulfil the heart’s desires. In Karen’s case, she is quickly coerced into choosing a pair of spectacular red shoes fit for dancing. Sylvestor is the only character that interacts directly with the audience, unsettling expectations from the first few lines: ‘And everything turns out alright in the end…Doesn’t it?’

The production is cinematic, with lush colour palettes and sumptuous costumes, enhanced by music, composed by Marc Teitler, which has enough drama to score a Hollywood blockbuster. Naturally, as this is a story revolving around dance, Nikki Cheung’s performance features some impressive footwork, and she commands attention whenever she is dancing.

The production has a recommended age guidance of 7+, with parental discretion recommended for under 12s. It’s easy to imagine a hardy seven-year-old delighting in the gruesome scenes, while some twelve-year-olds might want to run a mile. The play takes a little while to get into its stride, hints at more mature themes, and doesn’t shy away from blood and violence.

The play, like a well-made shoe, is not ‘one size fits all’, and while some might be disconcerted by the lack of a fairy tale ending, the production is an intriguing prospect for the winter season. Weird and wonderful, bold and gory, The Red Shoes are definitely dancing their way to something different.

Four Stars

The Red Shoes was reviewed by Jessica Clixby at the RSC’s Swan Theatre on Thursday 14 November, where it plays until Sunday 19 January.