Adapted by Nicola Scott from her own play, this adult fairy tale is a study in grief, rejection, sacrifice and the muddled motives for love. But despite Scott packing the action with Liverpool landmarks, it stubbornly refuses to escape its theatrical origins.
The authentic settings expose the courtliness of the dialogue, which isn’t always handled convincingly by either Katrine De Candole, as the statue that comes to life, or Brendan Mackey, as the timid bouncer she needs to kiss to attain immortality. Michael Angelis is more credible as the sculptor whose misguided passion sets the supernatural saga in motion. But this feels too often like a City Of Culture promo for 2008.