MIKE Kenny reckons Hans Christian Andersen was "probably the first bona fide genius of writing for children".

The York playwright is pretty handy himself , rivalling David Wood as Britain's most performed writer of children's shows, and that popularity is partly down to his ability to bring fresh perspectives to familiar stories.

In this instance, he refracts Andersen's tale of The Princess And The Pea through the status of princesses today. "Princesses seem to be back with us as a cultural phenomenon," he writes in his programme note. "The assumption is generally that a 'real' princess is very sensitive and high maintenance. If you read Andersen's original, you can't quite tell if he's supporting or actually taking the mickey out of this attitude".

Kenny notes how Andesen does not say anything about the Princess (Danielle Bird), beyond her taking the "pea test" to prove she is a real princess, and his response is to give her a story about what it means to be "real", rather than a Disney-deified princess.

To do so, Kenny creates a plethora of other princeeeses, played by the cast of three, as the Prince (Oliver Mawdsley) conducts his search for the "real Princess" he should marry on the instructon of the Queen (Joanna Brown in her professional stage debut). In a nutshell, being a real Princess is not all pretty dresses and stamping of feet. Instead, this real Princess emerges from the rain, blown in by the winds, with no spoilt attitude problem. A case of keeping it real, not royal.

Kenny frames his story in a humorous device of three narrator-curators from the Museum of Forgotten Things, telling the story of The Princess And The Pea, on a set design by Catherine Chapman that makes great play of the collection of forgotten things, such as Goldilock's porridge spoon and Cinderella's glittering footwear. You will recall how the Shrek movies revelled in reviving fairytale characters and Kenny does the same here.

Part of Kenny's admiration for Andersen rests on Andersen's irreverence towards royalty, and he is quick to have fun at the Prince's lack of social or practical skills, until his family's impoverished state forces him to show mettle, while the Queen's old-fashioned dogmas and stuck-up scorn are sent up by both Kenny and Brown's haughty demeanour.

Mawdsley's Prince is more than a nice-but-dim spoof; he too has a journey to being real, while Mawdsley also enjoys himself in princess mode. Bird is a bundle of energy in assorted roles and delights the young audience as the Princess with her feet on the ground, while Brown's tall stature adds to the Queen's regal airs and the evil Stepmother's imposing villainy.

The cast members are all actor musicians, and so Bird's ukulele, Brown's accordion and especially Mawdsley's tuba are a joy, courtesy of Ollie Birch's score, his songs blessed with amusing, playful lyrics too.

Come the end, the curators have re-named it the Museum of Remembered Things; this play being its latest addition.

The Princess And The Pea, Tutti Frutti Productions and York Theatre Royal, at York Theatre Royal until October 4, then on tour; Sheffield Crucible Studio, December 10 to January 3. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Sheffield, 0114 249 6000 or sheffieldtheatres.co.uk