Scottish Ballet The Snow Queen At Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Review

Reviewed by Wilma Wallace

It never ceases to amaze me how a story can be told so beautifully through music, dance and expression. From start to finish I was captivated under the spell of the dancers and time disappeared so quickly. I had a brief knowledge of Hans Christian Andersen’s  Snow Queen and this portrayal of the story by Scottish Ballet is a must see. For those not familiar with the story think Frozen with a dark twist but rather than animation a live version without words or song.

You quickly got a feel for the love between the sisters, the elder being the Snow Queen and the Younger the Summer Princess later to be known as Lexi.  There is an emotional  struggle as the Summer Princess grows up and gets an insight through her sister as to what her future could look like. The Princess becomes impatient and rebellious as she yearns for a different life with the handsome young man she was shown in the enchanted mirror.

Lexi dances runs away and finds a new life in a local village  where she elegantly dances and  pickpockets her way around the stage. Within the village she encounters the young man she seen within the shard of the mirror and attempts to draw him away from his fiancé Gerda.

In the meantime the Snow Queen is searching throughout the land for her sister, utilising her snow wolves to track her down to the village. She freezes time and begs her sister to return. When Lexi refuses the Snow Queen uses her magic to draw the handsome young man Kia’s affections away  and utilises a visiting traveling show to steal him away to her Ice Palace.

Greta and Lexi become allies, searching the land for Kia when they encounter a Travellers Camp. The fortune teller shows them that Kia is at the palace and under the Snow Queens enchantment.

The stage setting is spectacular and busy, it was difficult to focus on any one dancer as one was as captivating as the other. Try as I may it was also a struggle to remain focused on Lexi’s antics as there was a phenomenal array of activities demonstrating village life and the excitement, hustle and bustle of a market place. Therefore also emphasising how good Lexi had become at her craft and blending into village life. I never expected, nor did I imagine that ballet could also capture comedy which it did beautifully on the arrival of the Traveling Showmen and in particular the clowns and the strong man. The demonstration fell in line with the social expectations of the characters and was a joy to watch. It was all pleasurable but in particular the evening setting of the Travelers Camp for the era being portrayed. With fires burning in the evening sky, dancing and music in the form of a single fiddler and the Travelling community welcoming Greta and Lexi, it was an amazing portrayal of community living and acceptance of fellow travellers.

I cannot ignore the amazing work of the orchestra either, supporting through sound and music to highlight the personalities of each character and provide a background for the mood of the moment.

Regardless of whether you are a ballet fanatic or curious about ballet this show is a must see for people of all ages. The guidelines are 8+ but due to the non-threatening persona of the wolves and the setting in general then a younger audience would be safe if the child has the ability to remain focused for the duration . This was definitely the quickest feeling performance I have ever attended.

Please if you can visit https://www.scottishballet.co.uk/event/snow-queen for tickets, venue details and gift items for the ballet lover in your life.

Ticket Prices start from £19.50 with Matinee shows also available

Rating: This one gets a 5/5 from me and my companion who had never seen a ballet before.