A FUTURISTIC adaptation of the fairytale classic Sleeping Beauty set nearly 70 years later sold out at its village venue.

Hazel Humphreys' modern-day remake has been flipped on its head for Wivenhoe Pantomime Group which are in the middle of a four-day run.

It is also a directorial debut for Wivenhoe's Shane Diggens, who has been volunteering with the panto for the past eight years, but has directed shows since 15 years old.

He said: "It feels fantastic to be sold out and makes for a great week ahead knowing we have a full house every time.

Hazel has done a brilliant job with it and there's a big twist in the plot.

"Rumpelstiltskin is in there as well but rather than spinning straw into gold, gold is spun into straw because there's no straw left and nothing for Jessie the horse to eat.

"The after-effect of the spinning wheel is quite funny too."

Young people took on leading roles this year with Maisy Reed as Princess Beauty, Hannah Warner as an older Billy - a new character - and Aoibhin Durrell-Loughlin playing both young Billy and a tree.

Shane's theatre partner-in-crime, sister Tracie, narrates the tale. The pair have been working together since teenagers.

He said: "We wrote our own musical which ended up being on at the Mercury Theatre and the West Cliff, and won awards.

"My first role with the Wivenhoe Pantomime Group was the Dame and I changed roles until I went backstage then on stage again before becoming the stage manager.

"It's quite nice the cast rotate roles, either on stage or in production, so it gives people an opportunity. It also means the audience don't get used to seeing the same people.

"Nobody is professional, we're all volunteers, but some people may do these jobs professionally so there's a lot of skill and talent amongst us.

"They can then teach the youngsters coming through and it's great to see that progression."