2016 - Once Upon a Fairytale

Once Upon a Fairytale takes us on a canter through some well known fairy stories and melds them together in to a new enchantment. Our heroine is Belle, daughter of Geppetto - the puppet maker, who is looking for true love. A selfish woodcutter is turned in to ugly beast by the fairy who also places a powerful spell on Lavant forest. In the market boorish Gaston tells Belle that she's going to marry him - she isn't impressed! Pinocchio is brought to life by the good fairy and Geppetto, seeing the chance of a fortune, decides he needs to make a female puppet for a double act so heads for the enchanted forest to find more wood; he doesn't return! Belle goes in search of her father. On her search she is imprisoned by the Forest Queen who is jealous of her beauty. The guard is distracted and Belle escapes and asks Cinderella if she's seen her father? On her walk through the forest the big bad wolf tries to strike up a friendship with Belle. Prince Charming encounters the Fairy disguised as an old woman who turns him into a frog when he disdainfully rejects her plea for money to buy food. Belle and the wolf discover the frog who asks her to kiss him to transform him back into a prince. She won't and feeling peckish the wolf eats the frog.

In his cabin deep in the enchanted forest, the beast has captured Geppetto and chained him to a wall. Belle enters the beast's lair and finding her father imprisoned takes his place. Sleeping Beauty, the beast's sister, tries to persuade Belle that the beast is loveable beneath his ugly exterior. We switch to the village tavern where Gaston is having his ample ego boosted even more by the locals. Geppetto bursts in and tells Gaston of Belle's fate. A plan is evolved to rescue Belle. Meanwhile the Beast's charm offensive with Belle fails and in despair he sends her away. The wolf has inveigled himself in to grandma's cottage and is about eat her and Belle when the Beast bursts in and saves the day. Belle now sees through the Beast's repelling carapace to the good man inside.

Photographs from the dress rehearsal are shown below - unfortunately these won't play on iPads or iPhones!