As soon as you enter the auditorium your senses are heightened; a smile beams from each audience member as the realisation of the magic we are about to be part of dawns. Slava's Snow Show is an inclusive tactile playground for every person who is in the space. The show morphs the auditorium into an atmospheric dream-filled sphere which resonates with ephemeral beauty. It is the stuff which theatrical dreams are made of. Objects, light, colour and sound are the hooks which drive the company of clowns, captained by the genius of Slava Polunin, on a limitless adventure through tactile worlds of water, snow and light.
The stage, and indeed the whole theatre, is a canvas which is painted with vibrant colours and images, brought to life by a cast who have the endearing physicality and movement quality of stop-frame animation characters. Every moment in this show holds a new idea which we discover and indulge in with great joy, like turning the page of an enchantingly illustrated storybook. Whether it starts off minuscule or enormous, each idea whets the imagination, begging you to forget what we thought was possible and open our eyes to the realm of the impossible brought to life by the simple and incredible genius of this show.
Clowning has an imbedded quality of sorrowful joy, traditionally finding comedy in tragedy. This show, however, has found a beauty, a magic and a silent majesty in clowning. Slava writes that he wants to create "a theatre that is constantly changing, that thrives on spontaneous improvisation and dearly respects tradition." He has captured the essence and tradition of the art of clowning and injected his own delicate magic into his production, creating physical theatre which has nothing but honesty, simplicity and the joy of entertaining at its core; a flawless treasure trove of comedic timing, physicality and intelligent design.
This show, in fact this practitioner is, truly memorable. There are few out there in the realm of theatre which move the audience in its simplistic magic; the opening sequence of the Julie Taymor's Lion King, the Mikado on stilts and War Horse to name but a few of the few that do. I was moved to tears as I experienced one of the most powerful theatrical moments in my life (and I've experience a lot): this one, this show, this concept, was phenomenal.
Who knew that lights, paper and air could create such an overwhelming effect and arouse such emotion in a person? Now that's theatre!
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