THE REP’s production of classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty is a darkly comic affair that is sure to entertain both young and old alike this festive season.

While work continues at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s Broad Street base – the play is being staged at the nearby Crescent Theatre which, with its intimate auditorium, proves the ideal venue for Rufus Norris’s quirky adaptation of Frenchman Charles Perrault’s original story.

Brimming with weird and wonderful characters, this charming fairytale is enthralling and imaginative from start to finish.

Presented by a capable ensemble of actors, many of whom double up on roles and play their own instruments on stage, the production is told by mischievous Fairy Goody, a grubby old sprite who casts a spell that sends Princess Beauty into a 100-year slumber.

Jenna Augen is great as the dishevelled fairy who spends much of the play trying to right the wrongs her ailing magic has caused.

Alex Clatworthy, making her theatrical debut, is delightful as Beauty and possessed of a beautiful singing voice to boot.

Elizabeth Marsh is marvellously melodramatic as the Queen; Ciaran Owens is suitably daring and dashing as the Prince; and Moyo Akande lights up the stage as the meat-munching, Scottish-sounding Ogress.

Directed by Sarah Esdaile - this family-friendly production also features a set that’s both functional and fabulously atmospheric.

Polished, creative, funny and fantastical - the show promises to leave theatregoers spellbound.

Sleeping Beauty runs at The Crescent Theatre, Brindley Place, Birmingham, until January 14.

Tickets are available online at birmingham-rep.co.uk