Slava’s Snow Show at the Bristol Hippodrome Review

Reviewed by Siobhan Bridgwater

Slava’s Snow Show has come to town and I am astonished to read in the programme that it has been an international success with rave reviews and copious awards for the last twenty three years. I had never heard of it before and, despite scouring the program for clues, I was still unsure about what exactly it was that I was about to see. But one thing is for sure, I and my 13-year-old son, were in for a most unusual evening.

We arrived in the auditorium to find the floor curiously littered in small, white, tissue paper strips. The lighting was dipped and the stage was starkly dressed with numerous large, dark side panels and little else. Suddenly, the theatre was plunged into darkness. As the stage lights come up we see a lone, sad and hunched, elderly clown, dressed in large canary-yellow overalls dragging a long rope painfully slowly, on to the stage. It is the most curious of sights. Everything unfolds in a similar, slow motion, pace and soon this first clown is joined by another, then another until the stage is full of fellow clowns with down turned mouths dressed in green overcoats, flappy caps and with enormous black shoes.

Each scene is wonderfully choreographed to a super loud, fun, soundtrack. Simple props are brought on stage through the night: a single, half deflated balloon, a broom, a ship made from a single bed, two large foam telephones and even a coat stand to add a focus to each scene. It was quite mesmerising to watch this painstakingly, detailed observation of events. It did not make me laugh out loud but instead, intrigued me and totally captivated my attention.

The highlights of the show came at the end of each act. The first half ended with a huge web being passed over the audience’s heads with caused much hilarity. But it is the ending of Act 2 that is really worth waiting for.

If you can get tickets in the stalls for this performance, I would highly recommend it. I can only imagine how spectacular it is to watch the finale from the circles but to be immersed in it, blasted from the stage right back to the sound engineers, with the unexpected, is unbelievably exhilarating. I have been astounded and spellbound in the theatre before, but never to this extent. The snow storm is a sight, and an experience, we shall never forget. We left, along with the rest of our fellow stall ticket holders, feeling like a pair of adrenaline junkies that had just base-jumped off the Eiffel Tower. Go see for yourselves. You won’t regret it.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £14 to £41 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

Slava’s Snow Show is at the Bristol Hippodrome from 28 November to 2 December 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/bristol or call the box office on 0844 871 3012.

Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, BS1 4UZ | 0844 871 3012