Paul Mansfield is a man who knows ice - and he will be looking for five tonnes of it when he returns to the city in June.
Mr Mansfield is executive producer of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, which will stage the spectacular Sleeping Beauty on Ice show at Dunedin's Regent Theatre from June 11 to 14.
''Logistically, it is a massive show, and it is the first time we have brought it to Dunedin, so we're very excited,'' he said.
Arriving in three trucks, the ice show came with its own giant chiller system and 13m square ice rink, which would take 18 hours to set up ahead of the performances.
''The first thing we will do is lay down five tonnes of ice cubes, which gives us a good bed for the ice rink - so it could be a bit tricky to source that,'' Mr Mansfield said.
Once the bed of ice is in place, built out over the Regent's orchestra pit, a technician will remain on-site through the night to spray and freeze layers of water ready for the show's 18 Imperial Ice Stars skaters.
''The show is a real spectacle, with a large scale set, and a full ice rink - all up close to the audience,'' Mr Mansfield said.
''At various points in the show, all 18 ice dancers will be on the rink at the same time, which will make for a real spectacle.''
Dunedin is the first New Zealand stop for the Imperial Ice Stars, who are on their 10th anniversary world tour, with a new interpretation of Sleeping Beauty by company artistic director Tony Mercer.
The show will continue on to Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, before heading offshore for six weeks in China, Singapore, Bangkok, and on to Europe.
