CityLife

Imperial view at The Lowry

SALFORD-born Tony Mercer, the artistic director of Swan Lake On Ice is passionate about his shows. He can't quite resist a grimace when the dreaded words Disney On Ice crop up as the theatre-on-ice shows he helms with The Imperial Ice Stars, including last year's critical and commercial smash Sleeping Beauty On Ice, are sophisticated and stylish affairs.

Between them, The Imperial Ice Stars, almost all from Russia and featuring ITV's Dancing On Ice sensation, Olga Sharutenko, boast no fewer than 26 Olympic, World, European and National Championship skaters who between them have won over 210 competition medals.

Like Sleeping Beauty, the timeless Swan Lake is faithful to Tchaikovsky's original intentions, he believes.

"My first thoughts with this production were that I wanted to achieve a performance of the story that left no unanswered questions.

"Too often productions of Swan Lake have storyboard elements which follow no logical pattern.," says Tony. "I've reverted to Tchaikovsky's original aim and set the characters of Odette and Odile to be played by different performers."

The ex-Salford Grammar boy cheerfully admits he started his artistic career getting a fiver to do the lights for Mike Sweeney and the Salford Jets, then travelled the world, lighting shows and working as a tour manager and production manager for such artists as The Three Degrees, Dionne Warwick, The Supremes and The Four Tops, among others, before going on to manage The Dooleys.

"I still don't consider what I do to be work and I always say that I have no talent apart from the talent to create something that people want to watch," he says.

He directed his first ice show, Summer Ice Spectacular, in 1994 and has subsequently directed `on ice' versions of Phantom Of The Opera, Barnum, Carmen, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan and The Nutcracker, before creating The Imperial Ice Stars in 2004.

Awe

Tony is in awe of the quality of the Imperial performers.

"They're not just technically great skaters but they're also people who have the ability to bring a character to life on stage," he asserts.

"There's a difference between sport and theatre, so sometimes I have to say `Put all those medals in your back pocket, you can't just go out there and be a jumping machine.

"You have to have the audience be with you when you jump'.

"I can safely say that the choreography of Swan Lake On Ice includes ice-skating elements that have never been seen in the world of figure skating before," adds Tony, who owns up that he can't skate.

"I skate really well on my backside," he laughs.

"But that means I'll ask them to do things they don't think they can do, because I don't know any better. Then, because they all still do have that competitive sport thing in them, they'll go off and think about it, then we'll work out between us how to do it."

Swan Lake on Ice is at the Lowry Theatre from Tuesday, October 17 till Saturday, October 21. é16.50 - é29.50. To book call 0870 060 1768 or click here to book online.