CityLife

Freeze-frame Toy Story

THE toys are literally on ice this weekend as the classic Disney film Toy Story showcases at the Manchester Evening News Arena as part Disney on Ice.

What's more, everything is larger than life in this show based on the hit film, featuring Buzz Lightyear, Woody and all the other toys. Andy's bed, for instance, is over 12ft high, while the family van has 4ft high tyres and a 30-inch licence plate!

''Just about the biggest challenge with this particular production is how big everything is,'' says stage manager Mike Anderson, who says it's not unknown for him and his crew to have to knock down a bit of wall in some venues in order to get equipment in place.

He hastens to add, though, that they rarely have to resort to such extreme measures to make sure the show goes on and that this will certainly not be the case at the MEN Arena, where he's worked before on Disney productions, such as their Jungle Adventure show.

''It's just a very good show,'' he says of the reason why people have been flocking to see the Toy Story show. ''Plus, it's very faithful to the movie itself and people love that movie.''

Director Jerry Bilik adds that he feels the story has a universal appeal. ''Everyone alive has a toy. Everyone dreams that their toys have a life of their own. Toy Story fulfils that fantasy in a highly entertaining way.''

The outrageous, over-sized scale of the show is inspired in part by the fact that Woody is portrayed by a 6ft Russian, while Buzz is played by a more compact Russian powerhouse (neither of whose names we can reveal!).

Complex costumes

Choreographer Robin Cousins describes Woody's skating style as a ''curvy, swinging motion'' while Buzz moves ''directly and angular''.

The contrasts continue in their costumes. Woody's is the simplest in the show, while Buzz's is the most complicated, with its spacesuit, pop-out wings and backpack.

The Buzz costume throws the skater's centre of gravity off, although he's used that to his advantage, using the added weight to help him spin faster!

In contemplating the choreography, Cousins faced a fundamental challenge, he admits. ''The movie, Toy Story, was basically a drama, so how could we make this into a skating musical? I felt very strongly that all of the skating numbers should push the storyline, further define the characters and express their emotions. None of the skating should be gratuitous.''

For example, he offers, Little Bo Peep, who has very little dialogue in the film version. ''So we don't really know much about her,'' he observes. ''In our production, she has two solo numbers and through her skating we discover who she is: a tough Southern belle with a soft heart.''

Disney On Ice Presents Toy Story is at the Manchester Evening News Arena until Sunday (October 7). The Ticket Hotline number is 0161 930 8000.