The impressive logistical effort will swing into action at the stately home near Stamford starting on August 6th for a lavish production of The Sleeping Beauty On Ice from skating wizards, The Imperial Ice Stars.

Billed as a top troupe of performers, including world and Olympic championship talents, the skaters will act out the classic love story to Tchaikovsky's music, substituting the normal ballet moves for high-speed throws, aerial gymnastics and gravity-defying lifts.

But before the first show, there is the small matter of creating an ice rink from scratch in the middle of August in a temporary theatre housing up to 1,500 spectators.Artistic director Tony Mercer said the marine plywood rink would first be unloaded and assembled in the grounds of the house.

He said: "We now have what looks like a giant baking tray into which we will lay our pastry, only our pastry is a 52ft by 52ft heavy-duty pool liner."The most awkward section of the work now begins, as the 10 miles of pipework are now laid inside the tray and connected to header pipes before being spaced out across the base of the tray and secured.
"The spacing is incredibly important and must be exact. If not, sections of the rink will not freeze and we would have some very unhappy and angry Russian skaters.

"The system will then be filled with glycol antifreeze like a giant car radiator, before chillers connected to the pipes are turned down to minus 15 degrees centigrade.Four tonnes of crushed ice will be spread over the pipes to give the ice-making process a headstart, and further depth will be added by spraying the rink with water overnight and throughout the next day.
By mid-afternoon, another 10 tonnes of ice will have formed, which is smoothed down perfectly before the rehearsal and performance, 34 hours after work began.

Mr Mercer said: "Once the rink is completed, the surface temperature is constantly monitored day and night throughout our stay at the theatre. In addition to this, during the interval and after each performance of the show, the surface is scraped and resurfaced with hot water to keep it as smooth as possible.

"The Imperial Ice Stars will perform in a "tented ice palace" set up in the grounds of Burghley, 70-feet tall at its highest point.It will include a "grand theatre big top" for the rink and audiences, an "ice bar" and a foyer, all tricked out with luxury carpets and chandeliers.

The palace will take 30 people three days to erect before the run opens on August 6.

There are shows at 7.30pm from then until Saturday, August 9th 2.30pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday, and shows at 1pm and 6pm on the closing day, Sunday.

Tickets priced £15 to £37.50 are available on 0871 2307135 or visit www.burghley.co.uk