Review: Ballet Shoes – National Theatre 2025

An eccentric archaeologist is initially reluctant when his housekeeper informs him of an orphaned distant family member, twelve-year-old Sylvia, waiting at his doorstep. Yet he takes her in, sparing one of the many grand rooms in his house previously reserved for his fossil collection. Over the ensuing years, he undertakes daring adventures abroad, sending back letters, artefacts and… babies. Coming across other abandoned children, he adopts them as his own, bringing Sylvia three baby sisters.

So writes Charlotte D’Angelo for theQR.co.uk…

Found forever sisters

Fast forward ten years: Sylvia is now the breadwinner and guardian, while Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil are growing up to be pioneering women. As they explore who they are and what they want to be, they bond together against financial barriers and the complexities of their unconventional blended family. When Sylvia and Nana are forced to take in lodgers, each sister finds a mentor among them.

Ballet Shoes will break your heart and build it back up again…

This is a story on the importance of sisterhood, community, and nurturing ambition in young girls. Whether a young girl sees this show with her family, or a grown woman visits on a solo theatre trip, Ballet Shoes will break your heart and build it back up again.

Childish wonder, quiet strength, fur coats and formidable acting

**Justin Salinger in *Ballet Shoes* (2025), National Theatre. © Alastair Muir.**

The sisters present an excellent mix of personalities. Upon first joining dance school, prodigy Posy shines with confidence, with Scarlett Monahan bringing an arrogant yet talented youthful pride to the role. Nina Cassells and Sienna Arif-Knights are exceptionally captivating as Pauline and Petrova. Cassell’s Pauline is strong and determined, while Arif-Knights’s Petrova is filled with childlike innocence, curiosity, and a touch of mischief.

The three lodgers drive the story and the girls forward to success: Jai Sarab (Raj Bojaj) gently takes future mechanic Petrova under his wing, tough literary academic Doctor Jakes (Pandora Colin) tutors Pauline, and vivacious dance teacher Theo Dane (Nadine Higgin)—sporting an only slightly questionable American accent—guides Posy.

However, the standout performance belongs to Justin Salinger, multi-roling between energetic Great Uncle Matthew, Russian ballet teacher Madame Fidolia, and avant-garde theatre director Mr French. He imbues each role with such distinct and embedded detail that it could easily take the whole production to realize one man is behind them all.

However, the standout performance belongs to Justin Salinger, multi-roling between energetic Great Uncle Matthew, Russian ballet teacher Madame Fidolia, and avant-garde theatre director Mr French…

A memory to fossilise

The award-nominated set is picture-perfect. Frankie Bradshaw has designed a visual treat of turquoise shelves, stacked fossils, and dinosaur drawings. The ensemble works together moving set pieces to create scenes ranging from ships at sea to dance classes and bathrooms. These are seamless transitions that offer artistry and poise, as opposed to just functional moments between scenes.

The ensemble and wider principal cast carry themselves with contagious energy, precise movement, and pockets of comedy in every small interaction. Director Katy Rudd has truly crafted a production of love, evident in the actors’ natural command of the stage, as well as every perfectly considered illumination, musical cue, and prop.

Featured Image: Scarlett Monahan in Ballet Shoes (2025), National Theatre. © Alastair Muir.