Reviews & Press Clippings

Stand by for an ice drama of oohs and aahs and heart-stopping thrills when Sleeping Beauty on Ice comes to the Wales Millenium Centre next month.

There’s a lot more to this production than the sweet tale of the princess who falls asleep for 100 years and the prince who wakes her with a kiss. The Imperial Ice Stars, a band of Olympic and award-winning skaters, combine the skill and storytelling to make good and evil clash in spectacular style. It seems hell hath no fury like a fairy who’s been left off the invitation list and when the wicked Carabosse discovers she hasn’t been asked to Princess Aurora’s christening she bestows her ‘gift’ on the baby – the curse of death.

When she finds that Sleeping Beauty has woken up after 100 years she flies into a rage ‘literally’ whizzing around on a high wire at the speed of light like the loop on a cowboy’s lasso rope – the girl deserves danger money. That’s just one of the stunts in this theatrical extravaganza – a stilt walker twirling on blades is another.

And the fairytale, quite scary at times, runs through it all with the recorded voice of veteran actor Bill Kerr telling the story at the beginning of each scene.

The WMC will be the first stop on the company’s debut tour of the UK which runs until May and also includes a stint at London’s Sadler’s Wells.

The cast of 23 champion skaters perform against a lavish backdrop created by Eamon D’Arcy, the production designer behind the Olympic Games opening ceremony 2000 in Sydney.

This ballet is ‘ice-danced’ to Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty score though sadly, to a recording rather than the extra dimension of a live orchestra.

The company travels with its own ice technicians plus 10 miles of pipework and chiller units which work a bit like a giant fridge plus a man with a scraper to make sure the surface gives the artists the perfect base.

There’s Sleeping Beauty the ballet and there are ice shows but this theatre version performed on a stage made of ice, is in a category of its own.

Lunchbox Theatrical Productions present Sleeping Beauty on Ice at the Wales Millenium Centre from January 12 until 22. For tickets call 0870 040 2000.