Drama Double for theTobacco Factory

Award-winning storyteller Daniel Morden will breathe new life into the ancient tale when he performs Sleeping Beauty and Alcestics at the Tobacco Factory Theatre on 16 and 17 May 2011.

You might think you know The Sleeping Beauty: there is the Disney version beloved of little girls everywhere; there is the Ladybird book version you read in your youth; and there is the kitsch pantomime version. But forget the countless cartoons and pantos: this compelling retelling transforms it into a powerful tale of love, separation and reunion.

“Often the very best stories are seen as just for children” says Daniel “but not so long ago all of us would have enjoyed them. After all, what are films and soaps but stories? Sleeping Beauty can be a thrilling tale, but nowadays we only know the anaemic child- friendly versions”

Daniel will tell Sleeping Beauty together with two haunting Greek Myths that share similar themes with this treasured tale. Daniel is one of the foremost storytellers of Greek legends. In 2007 he and Hugh Lupton received the Classical Association Prize for their work ‘making the classics accessible to the wider public’.

Later in the month, Mind the Gap bring their award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic Of Mice & Men to the Factory. An extraordinary tale of friendship, loyalty and the power of dreams, Of Mice & Men has been specifically adapted for the company by respected playwright Mike Kenny, whose version of The Railway Children has been playing to rave reviews at the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station in the heart of London’s West End.

This classic story focuses on two farm workers in 1930’s America – George and Lennie, drifters who have only each other and their shared search for the American Dream. George is the sharp little guy who looks out for Lennie. Lennie is his big-hearted companion who, unaware of his own strength, seems unable to keep out of trouble. Finding work on a ranch in California, they plan to stay long enough to buy a little place of their own… but their arrival triggers a tragic chain of events that threatens to destroy the very dream that unites them.

Having previously toured two versions of the production; in 2000 a three hand adaptation and in 2005 an extended five hand version; the 2011 tour returns to the original and, in Mind the Gap’s opinion, the best version of the play – winner of the 2002 Barclays/ TMA Stage Award for Outstanding Achievement in Regional Theatre.