Opera singer, actor and writer Eliane Morel remembers sitting in preschool belting out nursery rhymes with the other children and "loving every minute" of it.
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I'm halfway through my life - if not more - and I have nothing to lose.
- Eliane Morel
The then three-year-old was already addicted to the tunes, playing them over and over again on her parent's turntable until she knew every word.
"I've been fascinated with fairy stories since I was a kid, and as you get older you start to look for alternative stories like those of Roald Dahl," Morel said from her rehearsal space in the beach side Sydney suburb of Bondi.
"They really fascinated me in my teens."
Twisted fairy tales have been part of popular culture since The Brothers Grimm, and modern day audiences are drawn to the more infamous characters who may have only played a small but important role in the story.
As Morel dug deeper she realised she wanted to bring to life these more marginalised characters and give them a voice.
"I was thinking about fairy tales and all the characters that didn't get a say, and who would want a say," Morel said.
It was while dressed at an ugly sister from Cinderella during a party in Bermagui she came up with the idea for her touring show, Disenchanted: A Cabaret of Twisted Fairy Tales.
"I just made up a song that day and performed it at the dinner party," Morel said.
"It just came so easily and it was so much fun."
Characters such as, Girty the goose who lays the golden eggs, and once owned by Jack who grew the giant beanstalk, and Angelique, one of Blue Beard the pirates dead wives, have been brought to life by Morel.
After a successful run and the Sydney Fringe Festival, Morel is bringing her show, described by critics as "sexy and subversive" with "pitch-perfect comic timing", to Far South Coast audiences in August and September.
"People loved it, which has given me the inspiration to do it again," Morel said.
"It showed to me that the show is worthwhile touring, and I've added a few more extra twists to the fringe festival show to keep up to date with popular culture and things that change."
The now 50-year-old said since she began performing in her 20s, while the music industry hasn't changed in Australia, Morel herself has evolved.
"There is something special and fun about being 50," she said. I'm halfway through my life - if not more - and I have nothing to lose."
