Scottish Ballet: The Snow Queen At Theatre Royal Glasgow Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Deb Mac
The Snow Queen is a visual telling of a simplified Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen. It is also the background for the film ‘Frozen’ opening the doors for our younger audiences who will be magically enchanted into a new world of ballet and storytelling. This is a show not to be missed!
The synopsis is a story of the Snow Queen (Jessica Fyfe) and her sister the Summer Princess, Lexi (Kayla-Maree Tarantolo) that live in an isolated Ice Palace. Lexi begs the Snow Queen to use the enchanted mirror to show the future, which gives her a glimpse of her future embracing a handsome stranger.
The Snow Queen is left alone and angry as the Summer Princess flees. In her rage she shatters the mirror and vows to bring her sister back. The tale goes on telling the how the Summer Princess meets her handsome stranger, but not all is as it seems. Follows the story of love, betrayal, jealousy and more as the Snow Queen goes to get the Summer Princess to come and live with her once more.
The wonderful use of the transparent curtain to represent the frozen palace is a fabulous contrast of the world of summer where Lexi is now living. There is a lot less set, but more stunning dancers in costumes that are spectacular. Meeting the members of the circus and the towns folk; they radiate the joy of not living in an icy cold world. The use of bright, warm colours reflects the difference of the two very different worlds.
I loved the travelling circus – the dancers were dressed just as I would imagine the acrobats, clowns, strongman and ballerina to look like, they were entertaining and brought lots of smiles, remembering going to one as a child.
On the opposite side in the land of ice the Jack Frosts and Snow Wolves were magical both in their costume and dance routines. As the Snow Queen enlist their help to block Gerda is edge of your seat entertainment as the battle enrages on. I personally did not like the male Snowflake masks; however, this did not take away in their strength as dancers.
The talented Christopher Hampson CBE choreography and design by Lez Brotherston OBE, are all married together with the Scottish Ballet orchestra with the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The music heightens every moment, every chase, triumph and heartbreak throughout the tale; it is a marriage of visual and audio made in heaven.
There is also an online shop where you can purchase merch at a reasonable price, giving you a memory of an enchanting night out. https://scottishballet.co.uk/discover/shop/
Scottish Ballet also offer ‘Become a Friend’; this will satisfy your behind the scenes curiosity and more. There are different levels to join, all giving you exclusive insights into the world or ballet, hearing first hand from the dancers and more.
This wintery tale began before Christmas but continues until the end of January:
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
3 – 17 January 2026
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
21 – 24 January 2026
Eden Court, Inverness
28 – 31 January 2026
Ticket Prices: £15 – £70.50 (there may be a booking fee)
Rating: 5/5 stars