If you've ever wanted a night where Zeus flirts with a Hollywood starlet, a rehearsal pianist tries to keep the tempo from falling off a cliff, and a full live orchestra swings through Gershwin and Ravel — Scottish Ballet has you covered, and you have precisely today to catch it in Glasgow.

Starstruck, the company's glittering revival of Gene Kelly's "love letter to ballet", closes out its Theatre Royal run this Saturday before heading off on a Scottish tour. If you can possibly wangle a ticket, wangle one.

What actually happens on stage

Billed as a "director's cut" of the ballet Scottish Ballet first revived in 2021, the 2026 Starstruck has been enhanced and extended into a new two-act production. CEO and Artistic Director Christopher Hampson CBE has built a love story that flips between two worlds: a Star Ballerina and a Choreographer rehearsing a new work, and their mythological counterparts Aphrodite and Zeus, who are having their own, very loud, domestic.

Expect a rehearsal-room audition scene, a shimmering Hollywood dream sequence, a cheeky beach interlude (Aphrodite absconding to sunny France with Eros in tow), and a finale at the Paris Opéra. It's glamorous, it's funny, and it's built for people who've never set foot in a ballet before as much as for seasoned regulars.

The music — Gershwin, Ravel and a touch of Chopin — is performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, which gives the whole thing the Jazz Age sparkle the trailers have been promising. Designs are by Lez Brotherston OBE, whose work tends to do half the storytelling by itself.

Practical stuff

Venue: Theatre Royal Glasgow, 282 Hope Street, G2 3QA — a short walk from Glasgow Queen Street.

Final Glasgow performances (today, Saturday 18 April 2026): matinee at 2.30pm and evening show at 7.30pm. Runtime is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes including a 20-minute interval.

Tickets: available via ATG Tickets. Group bookings of 10 or more can call 020 7206 1174. The Box Office opens 90 minutes before curtain, and the venue is cashless throughout.

Access note: the production contains flashing lights.

Missed it in Glasgow? The tour rolls on to Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (24–25 April), His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen (1–2 May) and the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (7–9 May). Each venue hosts a free post-show talk on the Friday of its run — in Aberdeen and Edinburgh with Christopher Hampson and Scottish Ballet dancers.

Worth the fuss?

The critics certainly think so. Five stars from The Scotsman ("a feel good triumph"), The Telegraph ("heavenly"), The Herald ("joy") and The Stage ("sexy and modern") — a full house of top marks is rare for any production, let alone a two-act ballet.

Starstruck was created in collaboration with Gene Kelly's widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, and that affection for his legacy comes through in every Hollywood flourish. It's a reminder, too, that Scottish Ballet is one of Glasgow's genuine cultural assets: a world-class company, based here, putting on work that travels.

Grab a ticket, raise a glass of something fizzy at the interval, and let the Jazz Age do the rest.