Think you know fairy tales? Think again. Twisted, dark and funny. Fairy tales, reworked, funny, furious and fantastic, as tales of the marginalised. Original fairy tales were about bravado, fortune, destiny and courage. But always there, watching from the edges, were the quiet ones. The bit characters. The bridesmaids. The untouchables. Single mothers, Ugly sisters, Grandmothers. In The Magic Hour, they get their chance to shine. From caravan parks and Housing Commission towers, in old school discos and in junkie gardens... Welcome one and all to “the twilight hour, the dreaming hour, The Magic Hour”. Written and directed by Vanessa Bates, featuring actors Louise Chapman and Jan Hunt with live music by Amy Vee. This 2024 life can seem a harsh one; a post-pandemic world with growing climate change, cost of living, wars, homelessness, fake news, mental instability, AI and social media consequences. What is left for us to hope for in such a fearful, insecure, unbelievable world of not enough, too much and not again? What is left to matter? Well... Love matters. Kindness matters. Caring matters. And Courage matters. And because of all these things, or perhaps at the start of all these things… Stories matter.