Five Reasons to See … Sleeping Beauty
Another Soup Productions are bringing a dark re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty through puppetry,
physical theatre and verse. Here’s why artistic director Dave Spencer thinks you should come and see the
show.
1. Sleeping Beauty is excellently immersive. Each performance, we will invite a handful of children to sit
on cushions on the stage, at the feet of the central grandmother narrator, Carabosse. Sitting there, they
will be right in the middle of the action and will hopefully feel like they may be picked on at any time to
play one of the characters in the story that is being told to them.
2. We have tried to create a piece of dark family theatre – and we have definitely succeeded! While it is
still suitable for the younger audience, it is, by no means, one of your typical fairytales. Through the
story, our audiences will confront the themes of loss, personal growth, powerlessness and treachery.
And don’t come expecting an uplifting ending – this is no happily-ever-after fable.
3. The puppetry and puppets themselves are incredible. We had them designed and made by Bunny In
The Box Props and Puppets, a company based in Mid Wales. They’re amazing and so in keeping with the
aesthetic we were trying to achieve for the show – the sort of playroom that a weird granny would keep
in pristine condition for when her grandchildren come round. You can find photos of them on our
website (www.anothersoup.co.uk) if you can’t wait until the show to see them!
4. The show has been devised with the help of the entire company. I direct and also wrote the original script, but only intended this to be a starting point. In effect, it is a
springboard from which the actors have managed to create a piece of theatre that they are all
emotionally invested in. We hope that this is recognised by the audience.
5. And finally, we have beaten incredible odds in order to make it to Edinburgh. Our assistant director
was diagnosed with glandular fever; our “Prince Charming” figure has suffered a cracked heel bone; one
of the “Three Sisters of the Eastern Marshes” got a thorn embedded in the sole of his foot (very fitting,
I’m sure you’ll agree); the majority of the cast have now got severe, and we mean severe, carpet burned
limbs; and we have also broken mirrors for use as props. Hopefully, the bad luck will wear off soon.
Sleeping Beauty can be seen from 5-27 August (excl Sundays) at 16.10 at theSpaces on North Bridge.
