The Snow Queen, Chichester Festival Theatre

Writer: Hans Christian Andersen

Adaptor: Bryony Lavery

Lyrics/Lyrics: Jason Carr

Director: Dale Rooks and Abigail Graham

Reviewer: Ann Bawtree

The future of the British Theatre is safe. That is, if the enthusiasm, talent and discipline of the seventy three strong cast of Dale Rooks’ and Abigail Graham’s production of a new musical version of The Snow Queen is anything to go by. Performed by members of the highly successful Chichester Youth Theatre this presentation of Hans Christian Anderson’s famous story played to a full house at Chichester last night.

The original tale is very complex, an intertwining of seven different threads, not all of which appear in the play. However the main themes remain. In some versions, the Snow Queen is seen as the epitome of evil but here she is as much a victim as Kay, the boy who is drawn away from his home. The noble Gerda has to find the spiritual strength to bring him back. She and Granny Snow trek through many an adventure with the final one on her own because “grannies do not last for ever”. Originally the villain was an evil sprite whose aim was to stir up hatred and suspicion but here it is in the person of a school mistress who says she “wants all children to be perfect”. That raised a smile or two amongst the older members of the audience. The terrorised parents of the bolshy teenager whose room was an utter mess also struck a chord.

Simon Higlett’s set had a back drop of warm sunshine for the happy scenes changing to chilly blue and silver for the journeys to the frozen north. Much of this was due to careful lighting by James Whiteside who was also responsible for a grand display of the aurora borealis. The set design also incorporated many inventive props, the Snow Queen’s icy sleigh, the transparent fishing hut, the village houses on wheels. Falling leaves set the time of year even before the first note was struck, to be followed by the inevitable snow and at last, huge crystals denoting the grandeur of the Snow Queen’s palace. The teenager’s horrible bedroom was a thick carpet, unrolled on stage to reveal the usual detritus.

The music of Jason Carr was performed by a band of five musicians, invisible, high up in the flies, under the direction of Jenny Gould and sound designer Jonathan Suffolk. The cast sang the lyrics based on Bryony Lavery’s book with admirable diction. Imogen Knight’s choreography gave plenty of action to the evening’s entertainment and the theatre’s revolve was used to good effect especially in the grandparents’ skiing song and dance.

The costumes by Amy Jackson are beautiful, some glamorous, some fantastic, but all added greatly to the timelessness of this story which can be appreciated on many levels, either as a pretty tale suitable for children at Chrismas time or, more deeply, as an expression of youth facing up to the necessity of becoming adult. It is probably not suitable for children under the age of about eight or nine but for everyone else it makes a delightfully seasonable outing.