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FAIRY tales are always full of magic and that is certainly the sensation audiences will be experiencing when they flock to The Lowry next week to enjoy The Sleeping Beauty on Ice. Peggy Woodcock talks to the show's producer Tony Mercer - a man who can't bear the thought of skating himself!

Salford-born Tony Mercer went skating once, on Altrincham ice rink, when he was 16. He fell over, watched some blades slice within an inch of his hand, and decided it wasn't for him.

Now his career, wife and life is all on ice. Internationally recognised as one of the world's leading directors of theatre on ice, he has spent the past ten years staging and touring top class shows here and overseas - and he's married to a skater.

But he still doesn't skate! 'The boys and girls try to get me on the ice but, no,' he said. 'I know all about double loops and triple jumps. Making sure that ice rink on stage is perfect for the skaters is a big part of my job. But I am happy to leave the performing to them.'

Next week Mercer brings his latest ice spectacular - The Sleeping Beauty On Ice - to The Lowry, Salford Quays, and it's another first for this remarkable venue which will be covering the huge Lyric stage with 14 tonnes of ice for the show.

It will sit three inches deep in a 16 metre by 16 metre heavy duty pool liner within a reinforced waterproof timber framework with 15 kilometres of pipe-work running underneath linked to huge chiller units outside the theatre. This way a mixture of anti-freeze and water is maintained at the vital minus 15 degrees.

And there will be the mirror-like surface for Mercer's cast of 24 Olympic, World and European skaters to perform the favourite fairy tale of Princess Aurora and her handsome prince with the good Lilac Fairy doing battle with wicked Carabosse for a happy ending.

Set to Tchaikovsky's music, it has been choreographed by Tatiana Tara-sova, who has coached seven Olympic gold medallists, and the lavish set was designed by Eamon Darcy, who was part of the production team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

The whole operation is impressive, as I discovered on a preview visit to Cardiff and the Wales Millennium Centre at the start of the company tour. They've just done Australia so getting ice and skaters around the UK should be a breeze!

Said Mercer: 'It's a constant challenge and the ice is always a worry. It has to be kept perfect for the speed and the power of the skaters. They give you such a hard time if it's not right.

'But we are all looking forward to it and, for me, playing the Lowry will be special because it takes me back to Manchester and I will be able to talk football with old mates.'

Mercer wanted to be an actor. His first director told him he was rubbish and sent him to work on lighting. He enjoyed it and spent the eighties travelling the world lighting shows and working as tour manager for such top artists as The Three Degrees, Dionne Warwick, Elkie Brooks and Jack Jones.

He managed Manchester's The Dooleys before being asked to help produce a Disney on Ice show.

'I wasn't impressed,' he said. 'Figure skating didn't attract me. But I got other offers, couldn't resist butting in with suggestions, so somewhere along the way I was directing. I fell in love with it. They say it's the smell of the ice. It's like a drug. And you have this blank canvas to work on.'

Mercer has now toured several top ice shows in the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia, including Phantom of the Opera, Carmen, Cinderella and Peter Pan. He has homes in North Wales and Moscow, where he has excellent contacts with the skating world.

He said: 'Russia produces such great skaters who have trained from children and once their competitive life is over, they look to the theatre. I have a waiting list now of crack skaters waiting to join the shows.'

From the start they have impressed him with their dedication - 'they are no longer competing but every night they have to give of their best. They never let up'.

The performance made that clear, especially in the case of Maria Borovikova, the skater performing Carabosse.

The evening before she had been garbed in black, made up like something from hell, and steaming round the ice stage spitting fire and venom.

Now she was sitting opposite me, pretty as a picture, and smiling as she said positively that she had never wanted to be the good fairy, only the evil Carabosse.

In her excellent English, she explained: 'I have dreamed of it. When I started to skate in competition my first music was the Tchaikovsky for the evil fairy and I have wanted to play the role very much.

'Preparing for the part takes a long time. I have to warm up for half an hour and the make-up and hair takes 45 minutes. Then I begin to feel like Carabosse.

'Looking fierce is difficult. The skating is hard, with many lifts. But I trust my partner. He is strong and always helps me. And when I hear the applause of the audience, it gives me back my energy.'

The demanding role means Borovika has to stay in top shape but she is happy - 'I never have to diet and can eat chocolate that I love,' she smiled.

St Petersburg-born, she is typical of the Imperial skaters in a life devoted to the sport, starting at the age of six. An experienced performer, she was with the St Petersburg State Ice Theatre before coming to the UK six years ago.

With the Russian Ice Stars she was in The Phantom of the Opera and Barnum and last year she was delighted to take the lead role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker on Ice.

There are stories of dedication and achievement behind so many of the Sleeping Beauty cast, including German-born Mandy Woetzel, Princess Aurora, who had her first lesson aged four and began competitive skating with a partner aged 13.

Having made such an early choice between skating and gymnastics, she went on toa remarkable career which brought her European, World and Olympic championships and so many titles she says she has to look them up on the net! Like so many skaters, once competitive life was over, she looked to the theatre.

She said: 'I was not sorry to give up, for there is so much pressure. I was exhausted. I miss the fight but it was the right thing to do.

'The stage is another challenge. I love ballet but I thought it wasn't for me and it has been hard to learn. But I practise at home. Seeing the stage was a shock. So small. But the first time I saw the set, when I saw the palace, I felt like a princess.

'I love to see the children but they are so funny when they meet me and I am wearing my woolly hat not my beautiful costume. They don't believe it is me.'

Similarly Olga Sharutenko enjoys the glamour of being the Lilac Fairy - 'It's soft, yet, strong, magical, the best role I have had,' she said.

She followed in her mother's footsteps to become a figure skater, starting aged six, and winning both junior and senior titles with her partner. They went on to international success and then Sharutenko went into theatre with roles in Peter Pan and Barnum.

She said: 'I have found myself here in the theatre. In the sport you skate and worry whether people will like you. On stage I judge myself and I get warmth from the audience.'

Location: The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays

Dates: Tuesday, March 22-Saturday, March 26

Times: 7.30pm daily; Wednesday, Thursday,

Saturday matinees 2pm

Tickets: £26-£16; family tickets £92-£36

Box office: 0870 787 5790

Website: www.thelowry.com

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