The Gaiety theatre is to be transformed into a swirling, frosty winter wonderland with the arrival an ambitious re-telling of a classic fairy tale.

The Russian Ice Stars are bringing their version of ’Snow White On Ice’ to the island for five nights, from Wednesday April 5 to Sunday, April 9.

All the classic elements of the tale are included, including a beautiful heroine, a cast of axe-wielding dwarves, a wicked queen and the magical mirror, with which the queen uses to cast her evil eye over the fate of Snow White.

All this will be brought to life with plenty of thrills, ballet, gymnastics and aerial aerobatics, creating a breathtaking experience through the eye-catching, fast and free-flowing medium of dancing on ice.

The cast features ex-Olympic and world ice skating stars, including former Russian national skater Valeriia Vorobeva and former European champion Vladis Mintals as Snow White and the Handsome Prince.

Producer Vee Deplidge created the full length ’Ballet on Ice’ productions, designed to fit theatre stages throughout the world, allowing audiences to view routines close up and with full stage sets, as opposed to limited viewing during huge ice arena productions.

Vee said:’While watching an ice show in 1991, I was struck with the thought that marrying danger and speed with the beauty of ballet could be totally spectacular.

’I had always loved theatre. Transferring it to the ice was long overdue and would allow a whole new range of movement while giving a much broader appeal to the traditional interpretation of popular stories.

’What makes Snow White on Ice so different is the quality of the skaters, the Russian Ice Stars include more former World, European and Olympic competitors than any other theatrical ice show. The end result is truly magnificent.’

The ice rink at Tynwald Mills will be temporarily transported to the Gaiety for the week, and a whole block of seats, from rows A to H will be taken up by the stage extension, which is needed to accommodate the huge production.

Tickets for the show are priced £25, and £17.50 for under 16s. Family tickets are £70 for four or £35 for a family of two .

Each show is at 7.30pm, with two matinees at 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday, and 2pm on Sunday.