Month: August 2026

Ballet Shoes

04/08/26

National Theatre at Home

We’re visiting my mum and, when she reveals she’s taken out a subscription to NT at Home, we know exactly what we’ll be doing this evening. We start scrolling through the options – and then Ballet Shoes catches my eye.

Wait, what? It’s already played two sold-out runs in its South Bank location? I’d 100% have travelled to London for this if I’d known it was on. How have I missed it? I’m usually all over theatre news, but this one has completely passed me by.

Neither Mum nor Phil is particularly keen; there are lots of other plays they’d rather see. But my enthusiasm is so fervent, I don’t think they can bear to disappoint me. They agree to give it a go. And – spoiler alert – they are both mightily impressed.

Because this is an impressive production. Kendall Feaver’s adaptation of Noel Streatfeild’s much-loved novel is exemplary, knowing exactly which ideas to heighten (and which to dispense with) to retain the heart and spirit of the book. Likewise, director Katy Rudd maintains a lively pace, expertly interweaving theatrical spectacle with more naturalistic storytelling.

For those not in the know, Streatfeild’s best-known children’s story tells the tale of three young orphans, Pauline (Grace Saif), Petrova (Yanexi Enriquez) and Posy (Daisy Sequerra). Rescued from various corners of the globe by an eccentric explorer known as ‘Great Uncle Matthew’ (Justin Salinger), they are thrust on his adopted niece, Sylvia (Pearl Mackie), who has been living a quiet life in GUM’s London home, drawing pictures of the relics he brings back from his travels. But these latest curios take a whole lot more looking after than the usual fossils…

When GUM goes AWOL and stops sending money for his wards, Sylvia and nursemaid Nana (Jenny Galloway) are at their wits’ end. They need to find a way to make some money. One answer is obvious: their shabby Cromwell Road house is enormous; they can take in lodgers! And, once the paying guests are safely ensconced, another opportunity presents itself. Their tenant, Theo Dane (Nadine Higgin), is a teacher at The Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. If the girls attend this school, they’ll be able to work and help out with the household bills.

Multi-roling Salinger perfectly embodies Madame Fidolia, the formidable Russian ballerina-turned-headmistress, who immediately notices Posy’s dancing potential, singling her out for one-to-one lessons. This plot point leads to some truly beautiful solo ballet from Sequerra, while the children’s other performances – in Alice in Wonderland and an experimental production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – allow choreographer Ellen Kane to create a gleeful extravaganza. No chance to dazzle is missed, as Petrova’s obsession with all-things mechanical is actualised by lodger Jai (Sid Sagar)’s stunning prop car, designed by Frankie Bradshaw.

I can’t think of a single way this glorious production could be improved. It’s lively, engaging and exciting, a perfect piece of family entertainment. And a message from Phil: you don’t have to know the novel to revel in this fabulous show.

5 stars

Susan Singfield

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

31/07/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

The Odyssey may have stopped a lot of cinematic vessels from making it safely to shore, but Ol’ Webhead is back in town and nothing is big enough to halt the new Spider-Man from having his er… Brand New Day – even if, instead of IMAX, he’s had to settle for Screen X and 4D Real 3D. Me, I’m happy to watch it on a standard screen. There are a whole lot of Marvel products that I have enjoyed in the cinema, but Spidey is the only one I keep coming back for – and I’m really not alone. At the showing I attend there’s a veritable crowd of cinema-goers eagerly awaiting their next fix.

As a teenager in the 1960s, I adored the comics of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko – and, in 2002, I went along to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man at my local multiplex and fell in love with the character (as portrayed by Tobey Maguire) all over again. And through all the following iterations, I’ve returned for another helping, always finding new things to enjoy. Andrew Garfield? Yeah, okay, his two films were darker than what had gone before, but still perfectly watchable. And then, in 2016’s Homecoming, Tom Holland stepped confidently into the role, shepherding the series fully into the MCU and I was hooked once more. Lest we forget, somewhere in the midst of all this, there were two Spiderverse animations that were nothing short of masterpieces, but which existed alongside Holland’s films without causing a ripple. We were told that Holland’s contributions would be limited to a trilogy – but No Way Home left the story on such a cliffhanger it was clear there would have to be more.

Brand New Day finds Spidey in uncertain territory. Yes, he’s now been accepted as New York City’s friendly neighbourhood superhero and, between him and Detective Jean De Wolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), the city streets are being systematically scoured of criminals. But, as chronicled in No Way Home, a pesky mind-wipe by Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has added a new complication. Both Peter’s girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and his best buddy, Ned (Jacob Lees), have completely forgotten he even exists. He feels totally alone – and to make things worse, he’s also going through a major change in his DNA, the arachnid side of his personality growing in power and threatening to completely overcome him. And that web fluid he used to shoot from specially designed gadgets? It’s now squirting directly from his wrists – sometimes at very inopportune moments!

What’s more, a new threat is beginning to assert its influence on New York City – an invisible being that is able to leap from one unsuspecting victim to another in order to achieve its mysterious goals…

There is so much packed into this film that, even with a running time of 2 hours and 25 minutes, it seems to positively race by. (Some may argue that it could be cut back to two hours, but I would not want to be the one to decide which scenes should be considered expendable.) The characterisations of the key players have never been so astutely drawn. Nor has there been such emotional depth: there’s a real tone of sadness and regret in the early scenes, as Peter observes his former friends from a distance, as he suffers in silence.

Though several key MCU characters are afforded obligatory guest appearances – Florence Pugh’s Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner – none of them is allowed to overstay their welcome. Indeed, John Bernthal’s Frank Castle makes a particularly welcome addition to the story, forming an unlikely alliance with Peter, as the two former adversaries join forces to take on the aforementioned mysterious presence (I won’t reveal who or what this is, but it’s well worth the wait to find out).

Of course, there must also be action set-pieces in a film like this. New director Destin Daniel Cretton and cinematographer Brett Pawlak do not disappoint, amping up the visual flourishes with absolute control and ensuring that every single shot looks ravishing. The way the journey of the invisible ‘presence’ is shown is breathtaking, achieved simply with perfectly-timed choreography (you’ll need to see it for that line to make sense). Furthermore, an extended battle between Spidey and a whole team of red-garbed, sword-wielding martial artists is frankly jaw-dropping, one of the most accomplished special effects sequences I’ve ever seen.

What else can I tell you? Brand New Day somehow manages to locate the teenage kid lurking deep within me and offer him things that he still – after all these years – finds genuinely enthralling. Those who insist on stubbornly remaining in their seats for the inevitable post-credit sequence should be warned that this time out it simply amounts to a brief video game image and a promise that ‘Spider-Man will return.’

Don’t know about you, but I’m already looking forward to it.

4.7 stars

Philip Caveney