The German Market is here and John Lewis have released their annual tearjerker advert. Once again Christmas is upon us. With Christmas comes The Old Reps flagship yearly Christmas production. Last year we were enthralled by the Old Reps take on Pinocchio.
This year we have an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic snowy fairy tale, The Snow Queen. You’re almost certainly familiar with Frozen, which was partially inspired by The Snow Queen.
Once again, the show is a BOA production and students from the school make up the ensemble cast. They are supporting a very talented cast telling the story of Gerda and Kai, two young children living in a tiny Scandinavian village, dismayed and confused by the anger and prejudice of the grown ups around them.
After Gerda’s older sister turns 13 and becomes just like the rest of the grown ups, Gerda and Kai promise each other they will never change and will always be friends. The Snow Queen in her palace of ice and mirrors, however has other plans for them.
Alec Fellows-Bennet returns as director and his interpretation is full of the little touches and quirks that we have come to expect from him: the play opens with a very cinematic dream sequence, where Gerda foresees what awaits her and The Snow Queen is glimpsed as she torments the young girl. Later a flashback sequence uses sound effects and lighting to achieve a feel not unlike an old projector film. Also, (and Mr Trip’s favourite) was the way that The Snow Queens magic mirror was shown. If you’re a fan of retro computer games you’re in for a treat.
The main cast are wonderful with the standouts being Letitia Hector as the Snow Queen and Charlie Keable as the main goblin, Hader. Charlie brings much of the humour to the play and also pulls double duty, playing the role of The Robber Queen, and is clearly having a great time with it.
Letitia as The Snow Queen is formidable and has a huge presence whenever she is on stage. Her evil laugh echoes around the theatre and our kids loved her, and were so happy to meet her and the rest of the cast after the show.
Special shout to Steven Allan Jones as well, the Musical Director of the show. The Snow Queen is stuffed full of original music, big sing-a-longs and quieter more reflective tunes alike. Some of the songs had a distinctive 80s synth feel and again, had Mr Trips grinning with glee at them.
We love the Christmas productions put on by The Old Rep and BOA. It’s a really family-friendly Christmas event, that has its roots in the local community.
The Old Rep consistently pulls it off every year, and we know how much work Alec and company put into preparing, writing and rehearsing these Christmas productions. If you’re looking for a family day out, look no further than The Snow Queen at The Old Rep. Great music, production standards to die for and local talent given a chance to shine.
Book Tickets here: The Snow Queen Tickets the prices are fantastic. The show is running until December 30th 2019.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the press showing. All views and opinions are entirely our own. Photographs of the cast were provided by The Old Rep Theatre and taken by Andrew Fox.