Sleeping Beauty

Now that the pantomime season is up and running, and I need something to think about while the rest of the audience is jumping up to wiggle along to the sing-along, fairy-tales seem especially relevant. Up at Kilmarnock, Liam Dolan is having fun with Snow White - Dolan's annual appearance at The Palace might depend on his talents, but he tends to be willing to leave in some of the actual mythological energy of his stories - and The King's Theatre in Glasgow is battering Cinderella until the laughs come out. 

During the rest of the year, fairy tales find themselves, theatrically speaking, in the joint custody of kids' performances and the hardcore avant-garde. It's clear enough why the former wants them - since Victorian times, and now that The Bible is out of fashion, they provide basic moral instruction in a simple narrative. The experimental artists, and this is probably something to do with Dada, have fun exposing the psychological foundations of these secular myths - Bluebeard is having a wee moment in the spotlight, thanks to TIP Connection at manipulate and 33 1/3 at Sonica.

In London, Ron Hutchinson created Beyond Beauty, a comedy update of Sleeping Beauty. "Walt Disney hi-jacked the world's fairy tales because they were in public domain," says Hutchinson. "And he was too cheap to pay writers for fresh ideas. This is a chance to take another look at the narrative possibilities in these stories."

For Rebel Theatre's production, the snoozing glamour-girl wakes up in contemporary Peckham. Associate and actor Joel Samuels sees the situational humour in the juxtaposition of the epic and the mundane. "There's a sense that we all already know the answers that traditional fairy tales provide," he adds. "Well, this play, in its own sweet, silly and subversive way, flips those expectations on their head. That's something that family-friendly theatre could be accused of not doing enough of."

Hutchinson uses his own experiences to lend the sleeper some much needed relevance. "On a personal note,  I'm fascinated by the Sleeping Beauty story because I have a seventeen year old daughter and know how safe she feels in bed: it's the place where she can hide while she gets ready for the bigger world. I think there's a metaphor here that the underlying tale is directing us to look at," he continues. 

"Our Princess is woken by a kiss from a 'Prince' from a place not unlike modern-day Peckham. As a result the issues that the fairy-tale character faces are very much reflective of expectations of young girls today," says Samuels. "Moreover. we think it is important that contemporary audiences of all ages truly question; what is a real happily-ever-after? In general this play is a sweet little christmas show, but one that makes a recognisable statement about the relationships that we all have with our families and loved ones."

The time shift also allows Hutchinson to have fun with a spot of social satire. "The wicked Lord Chamberlain turns out to have the skill sets to be a very successful businessman in our world," he laughs. "He'd fit right in in Canary Wharf a few miles away!"

By the time Hutchinson had put together his version, he'd certainly escaped the usual Christmas show trap of writing crap jokes and hoping that a celebrity star can rescue them. "We're going more for the comedy of character -- the misunderstandings of someone with a medieval mind set faced with today's world and vastly changed personal circumstances," he says. "Especially for the King and Queen who have to come to terms with a world where they're powerless, broke and treated as figures of fun rather than dread."

This doesn't mean that they've lost the entire pantomime feel, Samuels notes: "We also have a fair whack of slapstick and belly-laughs in there as well. It's got a little of the better bits of panto about it without ever slipping wholly into that style."

Beyond Beauty at the Last Refuge

27th November – 15th December

Tuesday – Saturday @ 7.30pm
Sundays @ 3pm