Reviewed by Tricia Shaw
Ever since I was a child and first saw the TV version of The Snowman I have loved this story. When I heard that the stage show was coming to Milton Keynes Theatre I was thrilled to be able to share it with my children.
Based on the book by Raymond Briggs, it has a very simple plot: a boy wakes up one snowy morning and rushes to go outside to play in the snow. He builds a snowman and dresses it with an old hat and his scarf. That night the snowman comes to life and he and the boy explore the house before flying off to the North Pole to party with Santa, the penguins and other snowmen and women from around the world. However, unlike the book and TV, there are also some new characters in the evil Jack Frost and the beautiful ice princess.
The story of this beautiful friendship that is formed between the boy and the snowman is told through dance and music; it doesn’t have any dialogue and as such it is accessible to all ages. The musical score includes the well-known pieces from the TV animation; after all it wouldn’t be The Snowman without Howard Blake’s “Walking in the Air”!
We were delighted by the colourful costumes of the dancing fruit and the fantastic details of the snowmen costumes. I particularly liked the woodland animals’ dance in the woods during the motorbike scene. The reindeer were absolutely delightful and there were smiles all round during their dance with Santa. Nonetheless, my absolute favourites were the penguins; they were so full of character.
In this performance Cameron James Sutherland danced beautifully as the boy and portrayed his character perfectly from start to finish. The Snowman was played by Martin Fenton, the Ice Princess by Emanuela Atzeni and Jack Frost by Davide Fienauri. The clever choreography mixed with their wonderful dancing added a touch of tension and excitement to the story.
This is a delightful show and particularly suitable for young children who may never have been to the theatre before. It is fairly short with a run time of 1hour 45 minutes including the interval.
The Birmingham Rep Theatre Company’s 20th anniversary tour of The Snowman continues its run at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 20th January before going to the Theatre Royal in Brighton from Wednesday 24th to Sun 28th January.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £22.90 to £47.40 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
The Snowman is at Milton Keynes Theatre from 17-20 January 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes or call the box office on 0844 8717652.
Milton Keynes Theatre, 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK9 3NZ
