'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 wickedly funny and a cautionary tale of pride, vanity and how we all deserve to dance how we wish to dance.

For more information about themes and contents of this play, please see our content advisory page.

Age guidance: 7+ years. Parental discretion recommended for under 12s.

This production is sponsored by

Season Supporters: Backstage Trust, Miranda Curtis CMG

New Work at the RSC is generously supported by Hawthornden Foundation and The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust