Last night we headed to the press night of The Snowman at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. We were excited and couldn’t wait to see this as a stage show, especially with it being at the place where the ideas of it were originally created by Bill Alexander who was working as Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Birmingham Rep at the time.
This year celebrates 25 years of The Snowman on stage (40 years of Raymond Briggs book) and I knew we were going to be given a really good time. The girls were given a biscuit of The Snowman which they were incredibly happy with. How great does it look!?
For those who do not know the story (you all do, right?) it follows a young boy who makes a Snowman on Christmas Eve. At night, the snowman comes alive and the two of them set off on a night time adventure with Jack Frost to escape from…
The stage show was absolutely amazing. Summed up in one word, this performance of The Snowman was enchanting. A full five stars from the SmallHouseBigTrips household.
The stage, changing scenery often, was done so effortlessly and well, that I often looked in awe and amazement at how they had managed to change it so quickly and yet at no detriment to quality, it was all perfect. So well thought out and performed. Bill Alexander (Director) and Ruari Murchison (Design) together with composer Howard Blake and Choreographer Robert North, have created a stage masterpiece.
There are some great surprises within the show for the audience, but part of the magic is the fact that they are surprises, so I’m going to keep quiet about what they are… But just before the interval was my absolute favourite part and the bit just at the end of the show, left the girls shouting “wow” !
Just like the TV aired version of The Snowman, the stage show isn’t a talked performance but it still managed to captivate the attention of my two little girls and kept the essence and rawness of the original book.
Matilda laughed lots during the show, resulting in lots of the audience laughing at her, laughing at the show. You know the show is a winner, when a 5 year old conveys the exact emotions and reactions that as a director, you hope to portray. Laughter, happiness, shock, anticipation, empathy and even a moment of sadness. This production has all the emotions.
What makes this show so perfect for me, is the music composed by Howard Blake. Howard is the mastermind composer behind the original TV adaptation of the book and it appears his work just goes from strength to strength as he helped Bill Alexander with his vision to turn it into a stage show (which has a touch of ballet in it too). Walking in the Air will continue to be my favourite winter classical tune (I’m sure I read somewhere once that Howard had this song come to him whilst walking on a beach in Cornwall).
Matilda tells me her favourite character was the little boy, who I agree played the role incredibly well. Not a single mistake, moving so elegantly across the stage.
Matildas favourite moment was an onstage dance between a banana, a coconut and a pineapple and a limbo pole! Yes! Matilda and Jemima both laughed at this bit.
I enjoyed the last scene with the human sized badger, wolf, rabbit and squirrel. How fantastic the costumes and movements/mannerisms are.
During the show, you get to see a dancing Father Christmas, penguins, reindeer and crowds of The Snowman’s friends. It might be January now, but that lovely Christmas feeling came back for the evening.
What a splendid evening.
To get tickets, head over to this site: https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-snowman-2019.html#event-datesTimes
Suitable for ages 2 upwards.
No need to have children either, I’d happily go along to watch minus children (and many people did) – it was such a beautiful performance.
Do take some cash with you to purchase merchandise from the stand. All at reasonable prices.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the press showing by Birmingham Repertory Theatre – thank you. We had an amazing time. Professional photographs taken by Tristram Kenton.
This looks amazing. I think my children would love it.