With a cast of 25 world class figure skaters who have collected over 250 medals between them the Imperial Ice Stars perform an astonishing version of Cinderella. The story is moved away from the pantomime and Disney film we are all used to and taken back to it’s roots. The tale of an unlucky girl who loses her mother and when he remarries she suffers at the hands of her new step-family but with guidance from a mysterious gypsy woman she makes her way to the ball and captures the heart of the town mayor’s son.

The show is fantastically choreographed from start to finish by Tony Mercer and his team, there are some stunning sequences and lots of leaps, twists and spins as you might expect but carefully combined with touches of character, emotive gestures and physical comedy. There are some wonderful sequences and special effects, including a moment where fire and ice combine and the way the skaters combine to create the clock sequences is outstanding and the search for the girl who the left shoe will fit features some brilliant one legged skating. It really is something else when the skaters fly off the ice and into the air as they are lifted on rope to spin around above the audience. Never have the ugly step sisters been played with such flair. Some fantastic performances especially from the two leads, Olga Sharutenko and Andrey Penkin and also from Cinderella’s father played by Vadim Yarkov.

The costumes too were wonderful, beautifully designed, some of them costing over £4000 to make! For the most part the scenery was created via a huge projection, I’m always a little weary of this technique but with the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall to compete with this was a smart move and allowed you to really focus on the skating. The music specially composed for the show by Tim A Duncan and Edward James Barnwell and played by the orchestra which added an extra dimension in such a prestigious music venue.

This really is a spectacle of a show and backed up by some wonderful skating and you can see why nearly three million people across thee world have been to watch the Imperial Ice Stars. The run at the Royal Albert Hall is only short so move quickly if you want to catch it in this splendid setting.

25 February – 7 March, 2010

Starting at the end of February the TARA studio present the Shakespeare RE-MIXED Festival. This exciting festival offers contemporary interpretations of classic Shakespeare works which are accessible and have been restyled for a 21st Century audience.

The programme features local and international artists and plays host to a selection of the UK’s best storytellers. Topping the bill is a highly inventive version of Romeo and Juliet presented by Tiny Ninja Theatre, the timeless love story is to be performed by an unlikely cast of vending machine figurines. This pioneering troupe hail from New York and have not been seen in the UK since the RSC’s Complete Works Festival in 2007. Not to be missed, director Dov Weinstein inspires magic and enchantment as miniature toy figures are brought to life and transported to fair Verona.

Othello is the new imaginative reduced Shakespeare production from ArtsBeat, TARA’s dynamic, young people’s theatre group. ArtsBeat’s history of performing innovative re-tellings of classic Shakespeare ranges from Romeo and Juliet to Macbeth and Twelfth Night. This exciting production of Othello fuses contemporary storytelling with energetic performances, a passion for language and powerful narratives.

Jan Blake the storyteller in residence at the National Theatre will deliver the exciting adventure of Pericles, Shakespeare’s tale of the Prince of Tyre who is tasked with deciphering the dangerous riddle set by King Antiochus. King Lear, Shakespeare’s tale of vanity and ambition, is brought to life by fellow renowned storyteller Inno Sorsy.

Also joining in are two vibrant youth theatre groups who join forces to produce a double bill of Shakespeare: Macbeth is presented by Little Actors Youth Theatre based in Cheshire, the young cast use dynamic physical theatre to portray the play’s themes of morality, love and the supernatural; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by South West Youth Theatre from Earlsfield which is set in a laboratory where nothing is what it seems.

Booking: 020 8333 4457 / www.tara-arts.com
Venue: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES