The tale of two Sleeping Beauties could have turned into something of a nightmare, but management at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews and Dundee Rep say they have been kept busy entertaining happy theatre-goers the Fife theatre even beating its own box office record.
Both theatres chose the fairytale for their Christmas show this season for the Byre in particular it proved to be a dream choice.
“We are delighted to announce that Sleeping Beauty broke its target to become the highest earning box office show ever at the Byre Theatre,” said marketing and sales manager David Orr.
“It’s the second year in a row our Christmas show has broken box office records, demonstrating our growing popularity and reputation.”
He added, “There is no doubt the weather affected some audiences at the beginning of the run, in particular school shows where our cast and staff were more than willing to come in on days off for re-scheduled performances to make sure the children still got to see the show.
“Our New Year event, Bells At The Byre, also sold out again, which I think along with the success of Sleeping Beauty emphasises that at this time of year, despite the weather and money worries, people want to forget all that for a while and have fun.”
Across the Tay, Dundee Rep’s artistic director James Brining admitted that the weather had proved the biggest challenge in the run-up to the festive season.
He said, “Although this Christmas has been busy, the weather has made it one of the most challenging we have had, preventing some audience members from getting to the show.
“Overall, we have had to cancel three performances due to the severe weather and illness although, fortunately, we managed to reallocate the majority of the bookings for the cancelled shows.”
He added, “The response to the show itself has been terrific and audiences have been really positive about the production, as have the critics who managed to cover it.”
The run of Sleeping Beauty at the Byre has ended but the Rep production continues until Saturday.