One of the most spectacular shows ever to grace the stage of the Gordon Craig will be skating in next week.

Sleeping Beauty on Ice comes to the Stevenage venue from Tuesday, May 27 to Saturday, May 31.

The production has been re-choreographed by award-winning artistic director Tony Mercer - who is widely regarded as the world's leading creator of theatre on ice, together with 2002 world champion and Olympic medalist Ilia Averbukh and international medalist Maria Orlova.

Set to Tchaikovsky's score, The Imperial Ice Stars tell the classic love story through world-class skating, breathtaking high speed throws, aw-inspiring aerial gymnastics, stilt skating, fire effects and even ballet dancing across the ice.

Arts director for the Gordon Craig Theatre Bob Bustance said: "We are thrilled to be staging such a spectacular event here at the Arts & Leisure Centre.

"Having such a diverse venue has allowed us the opportunity of totally transforming our Concert Hall stage into an ice rink for five days.

"Hopefully the audience reaction will be worth the hard work involved, this is definitely an event not to be missed."

Learning to skate on stage can be a tough challenge for the stars, who are more used to Olympic sized rinks and must learn to adapt their breathtaking techniques to fit their new environment.

Mandy Woetzel, playing Sleeping Beauty, explained: "When I first arrived here it felt like learning to skate on an ice cube."

But before the Imperial Ice Stars can even set foot on the stage it needs to be transformed into an ice rink.

So just how do you turn a theatre into an arena suitable for a skating extravaganza?

Coating the surface of the stage will be around 14 tonnes of ice - and beneath it all around 15km of pipe work all at a working temperature of just 15 degrees.

In order for it all to be ready by the time the stars take to the ice, work must begin early and stick to a tight schedule.

Early on Monday morning the technicians, in their two 45ft trucks, will roll up to begin preparations.

First the rink must be pieced together, starting with the base and sides, which are made of marine reinforced plywood and waterproof timber.

Then comes a heavy-duty pool liner and pipe work, which must carefully be placed to ensure the entire surface of the rink freezes.

Once the outside of the pipes begin to frost over the whole thing must be covered with crushed ice.

Overnight, and throughout the next day, the rink will be sprayed every 15 minutes until a three inch thick layer of ice has formed.

When this has happened the top surface will be smoothed - ready for rehearsals to begin some 34 hours after work started!

And between performances and during the interval, the surface will be scraped and resurfaced - so spare a thought for the work going on behind the curtains while you enjoy your interval ice cream!

Tickets for the event start at £16.50 from the box office on 08700 131030 or online at www.gordon-craig.co.uk

For more information visit www.imperialicestars.com