THE SNOWMAN

The Snowman is now a Christmas classic, and quite rightly so. For an evening of sheer magical escapism to get into the winter wonderland mood, borrow a child or release your inner child and head for the Festival Theatre, to enjoy the Birmingham Repertory Theatre production of a wonderful stage version of Raymond Brigg’s well- loved story.
As the audience is arriving it is snowing most effectively on stage, and when the curtain rises we find an idyllic family scene that comes straight from granny’s memory – Father is smoking a pipe, Mother has a tight perm and sensible furry slippers, and adorable moppet is entranced by the falling snow. Then some carol singers arrive just to enhance this scene of love and goodwill, so when the snowman comes to life late at night it seems quite natural that he wants to explore this happy family home.

As the story is entirely without dialogue, Howard Blake’s lyrical score carries the audience from scene to scene. There is a lively section of Caribbean rhythms when the snowman is chilling out in front of the fridge surrounded by dancing tropical fruit, and a gentle music-box theme as the snowman dances round the boy’s bedroom.

A wild motorbike ride through the woods leads to various encounters with big-eyed furry creatures. The climax of course is when the snowman and the boy go “Walking In The Air” and set off on their epic journey to the North Pole to meet penguins and other snowmen, the Ice Princess and Jack Frost, and of course Santa Claus. Throughout it all the dance routines are lively and humorous, and the sheer joie-de-vivre of The Boy is a delight to see. There is a trio of 10 year olds playing the part of The Boy at different performances – I was entranced by Toby Fulton. This is the White Christmas we’ve been dreaming of, the childhood fantasy of all. A theatre full of happy kids can prove it.

Festival Theatre until Dec.30th Box office 0131 529 6000