A gasp of surprise ripples audibly through the audience. Not only is the man on the stage ice-skating on stilts, but is doing with one leg lifted high above his body, and spinning around on his other leg at a frightening speed. On this balmy spring day, Ice was the last thing on our minds as we took our seats, and its safe to say that few of us had any idea what we were in for
The Sleeping Beauty on Ice is a performance that is death defying, visually astonishing, and spectacular in the original sense of the word. A production that seems more like a travelling army than a theatre show, the forty Imperial Ice stars (including a fleet of technicians and a doctor) brought with them from Russia, ten miles of piping (enough to produce the 14 tonnes of ice on stage), one-hundred-and-ten costumes and enough anti-freeze to fill a hundred car cooling systems for when its all over.
By the end of the show the jaws of many audience members were aching from hanging open for so long. Amongst other things, we had just witnessed a man lift a fully grown woman high up above his head, and hold her there with one hand spinning her in a circle, while standing on one leg, we had seen the evil fairy Carabosse whirled around and around by one of her henchmen as if she weighed no more than a bin liner, while shadowy figures at the back of the stage breathed fire from their mouths. And this was before they started appearing on stilts.
While there was no speaking on stage (the plot was helped along from time to time by a recorded voice-over), the dancers were still able to thread their acrobatics into a coherent story. The show was led and dominated by Anton Klykov, who played Catalabutte, the court jester, a small, absurdly dressed man who was almost permanently on stage, and became the comic relief of the performance by pretending to fall over on his grand exit.
Perhaps the most powerful scene in the show, however, was that of the death of the evil Carabosse. She performed a long and melancholy dance, in which she became more and more soporific and subdued, while her cronies desperately tried to revive her, until eventually she collapsed in the middle the stage.
While the idea of The Sleeping Beauty on Ice may at first seem rather childish, it seems impossible that anyone could not enjoy this show. Even if you aren't attracted by the plot, or the extravagant costumes, it is still worth a visit to witness the astonishing acrobatics, and mind blowing stunts. It will certainly be something to think about next time I'm clinging to the side of an ice rink, my feet disappearing beneath me.
Playing at MK theatre until Saturday. Call the Box Office on 01908 606090
Download press article on MK Web
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