It’s that time of year again and even though the dependable and perennial KidzStuff opened their latest holiday show on Saturday with a wacky Sleeping Beauty they are already announcing their next show for the 2008 Easter holidays.

Sarah Delahunty’s Sleeping Beauty has Ellie (Heather O’Carroll) refusing to go to bed until her dad (Gene Alexander) tells her a story and the story is of course all about Princess Elinora (Jess Robinson) who is pricked by a needle belonging to Gertrude (Robert Tripe) who has a grudge against everyone because she doesn’t get invited to parties, even though she describes herself as "the fairyest fairy in the land."

There’s a Marx Brothers’ madness about the show with two very odd princes, both played by Heather O’Carroll who is dressed as if she were appearing in Shakespeare, won’t kiss the sleeping princess awake much to the delight of Gertrude who claims that this is "a victory for the hairy chins."

An owl (Robert Tripe) eventually rescues the princess from a century of sleep.

It’s all played at a great clip with the King telling the trumpeters to trumpet every time he makes an announcement, while coconuts are used a la Monty Python for horsey sound effects, and a Head Owl (Robert Tripe), whose head and what looks like a handlebar moustache from the back of the auditorium are the only visible parts of him, appears from time to time in a hole in the scenery to make wise (and funny) observations.

A holiday show mums and dads will enjoy too.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

With The Sleeping Beauty still getting the full romantic fantasy fairytale treatment on ice or in tutus and toe shoes, it’s great that this Kidz Stuff production of Sarah Delahunty’s adaptation also allows kids to connect with the idea in a closer-to-home but still fantastical way.  

This is the "real" version as told to Ellie (Heather O’Carroll) by her Dad (Gene Alexander) in order to get her to stop messing about and go to bed, clutching her favourite soft toy: a bird.

It’s all because fairy Isabel (Jess Robinson) is invited to a party for the new Princess Elinora but fairy Gertrude (Robert Tripe) – who knows she’s a big lump with a hairy chin that everyone loathes – is not, that she (Gertrude) casts the spell about Elinora being pricked with a needle and sleeping for a hundred years.

Thus Elinora (Robinson) grows up hyper-protected in a needle-free kingdom that reflects the ultra-safe world inflicted on today’s children by fearful parents and institutions. Even making friends with a Birdie (Alexander) carries dangers when the Princess wants to fly too.

There’s a use-by date on the spell so Gertude has to be devious to get Isabel pricked, and when she does there’s a brief window of opportunity – thanks to a Head owl (Tripe again) – that involves having to be kissed by a Prince before the 100-year sleep kicks in.

O’Carroll (who also plays the nervous Queen) gets to play two Prince prats, the first a rollicking twit straight out of Blackadder, the other a narcissistic twerp who doubts there is anyone more beautiful than himself. But never mind, Birdie is Prince-enough for Elinora, so Ellie is able to sleep, cuddling her soft toy, without being scared of not waking up for a hundred years.

Guided by Rachel More’s clear direction, on a storybook set by More and Dushka Blakely, the quartet of players relish their broad but true characterisations while keeping the story moving along. At the opening performance an attentive and responsive audience is fully engaged, neither over nor under-whelmed by a tale told in a way they will doubtless replicate in their own make-believe play.

Some may see this treatment of the story as a soft option that fails to recognise the high-stake values of classical fairy stories and folk tales. Indeed it could be argued it’s the kids play version of rubber-floored playgrounds and being driven to and from school every day.

On the other hand it avoids the potentially damaging imprinting of silly romantic fantasies that disempower those who fall for them. And it does validly reflect the way we reconcile imagined possibilities with the known universe in order to feel safe in the world.

The Kidz Stuff style remains astutely distilled and readily accessible thanks to the relaxed professionalism of all involved.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer