The Snow Queen

The Lyceum’s decision to stage Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen suddenly seems rather prophetic as snow, ice and freezing temperatures have recently brought most of Scotland to a standstill. But while the weather continues to be somewhat of a national obsession, the adverse weather conditions in Stuart Paterson’s stage adaptation are part of a much darker story, which sees good and evil fighting for control of the world once more.

In Paterson’s adaptation Of Christian Anderson’s classic fairytale, the evil Snow Queen (Allison McKenzie) and her loyal subject Cobweb (Robin Laing) begin to search for a ‘cruel child with a cold heart’ so they can make it winter forever. But when they cast a spell on the orphan Kay (Mark Prendergast), they don’t realise that Kay’s best friend Gerda (Helen Mackay) will stop at nothing to bring him home and make the sun shine once more. Andersen’s The Snow Queen, a tale of good fighting evil amidst the harsh conditions of a sudden and devastating winter, is one of his most famous, and due to the recent cold snap is something that many people can relate to.

But weather and coincidences aside, Thomson’s production of Paterson’s popular adaptation is a staple in Scottish theatres at this time of year, and has become as synonymous with the Scottish stage as turkey has at Christmas dinner. The characters and the story are strong, have a clear message that defines the differences between good and evil and has everything a Christmas show needs, such as fun goodies, evil baddies, a greedy king, talking polar bears and ghosts.

While Paterson’s adaptation and Thomson’s production have made some changes from Andersen’s original story, most notably in adapting it to the stage and using physical comedy; resultingly, it’s still on the whole a pure and very beautiful fairytale that extols the values of friendship, forgiveness and triumph over adversity.

Thomson’s production is a fun and memorable show that combines comedy with tragedy before finishing it all off with a good dash of Christmas spirit. Performed excellently by the cast, with the exception of McKenzie, who continually teetered on the brink of hamming up her role as the evil Snow Queen, this show is one that should be a must see on every theatre goers’ Christmas calendar.