What have the Stagecoach Youth Theatre's production of Sleeping Beauty and the Disney animation of the same story got in common?

The answer is, not very much, as the stage production has done away with the whimsical candy-coating and given the story more balance by emphasising the darker side.

All fairy stories should have that good versus evil slant, yet this production, adapted by Rufus Norris, manages this without sounding like it is moralising. To the joy of some of the younger members of the audience, it also had a fairy with a wind problem.

The first act centred around the more traditional story, as fairy Goody, played at different ages by Molly Proctor, Jesse Haughton-Shaw and Anna Wrigley-Howe, paid back a broken promise by laying the curse that sent Beauty to sleep, then repenting as her magic fades. She spent the rest of the play trying to right her wrong, hampered by a Greek chorus of vegetation that had some wonderfully ear-grating moments; not one, but two reluctant princes; the flesh-eating Ogress that Natalie Dennis turns into a terrifying mother-in-law from hell; and the scene-stealing Table Slave, played by Stephanie Solomon, who made it through her scene and a song-and-dance number while wearing a table!

Every member of the youth theatre deserves praise for their performance, especially associate director and member of the group Sarah Crompton, who took over the reigns of directorship despite also having the pressure of exams. With a minimum of props and scenery, but a great deal of enthusiasm and talent, these little stars really shine.

Rachel Lacy

All evening performances are sold out, but an extra Saturday matinee has been added, starting at 2.30pm. Tickets are available from 01904 674675.

Updated: 09:33 Thursday, March 25, 2004