Snoring Beauty

In the fairy tale tradition, the story of Sleeping Beauty appears in numerous versions. The best known ones are those of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault; it seems that these two somehow set the expectations of what is characteristic for this tale. But Leah Wilcox is a contemporary author who, in her picture book Waking Beauty, plays with the expectations and questions them. In relation to the best known versions, she twists many things, she writes them “wrong” or embellishes them with “flaws”. Waking Beauty begins with a prince in search of a dragon to kill: he hears a terrible sound coming from the castle and is convinced that he has heard a dragon. So he hastily enters the castle. But to his great surprise, he finds a snoring princess there …

The performance Waking Beauty is intended for pre-school children and children in the first triad of primary school. It will start in Leah Wilcox’s book, but at the same time will look at the wider tradition of the fairy tale. Using different strategies that the theatre space offers, it will play with the expectations of the actions of the prince, princess and fairy that appear in the performance. The performance will thus ask how boys and girls should behave. What is expected of them and who defines such expectations. And what are the other options that twist these expectations to fulfil them “wrong” or to embellish them with “flaws”.  

Tjaša Črnigoj, a director from the young generation of Slovenian thespians, hails from Ajdovščina and this was her SNG Nova Gorica debut.