© Production photos by Alan McCredieFrom her ice palace at the very top of the world, the wicked Snow Queen plans to turn everything to winter – no more summer, no more sunshine, no more warmth, no more holidays making sandcastles on the beach… Read more …
She starts by casting her spell over one little boy, Kay, turning his heart cold and letting him see only misery and ugliness in the world. But Kay’s friend Gerda has always thought of Kay as a brother, and together with the beasts of the forest and the sun spirit Bhima, she undertakes a quest to save him – and the rest of mankind – from eternal chill!
Stuart Paterson’s plays have long been popular with young audiences, especially at the Lyceum, and we’re delighted to be revisiting one of his earliest, most beautiful and most popular adaptations of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales. Guaranteed to put warmth into the coldest of hearts, however young or old you are!
It is not as lavishly presented as the Lyceum's Patersons of a decade ago, but the performances enliven a deep and urgent story, reminding us of what we've been missing.
You can’t help wishing Thomson had peppered his production with more spellbinding moments.
[A] welcome return of Stuart Paterson's play.
A thrilling and magical production which has an added resonance thanks to the exceptional winter weather.
The result is a show that works well enough in parts, but could work a great deal better, given a few subtle tweaks to its visual and emotional ecology.
There is a frisson of magic to Mark Thomson’s production of Stuart Paterson’s Snow Queen for the Royal Lyceum, the feeling that all you see on stage is real.
Some fun theatrical tricks ... has its moments but it doesn’t take many chances.
It sometimes feels like this show is treading a rather unsteady line between pantomime and theatre.
There’s a lack of conviction here in letting loose these unruly elements which leaves the production looking just a little twee.
Lyceum announces Xmas cast
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Thursday December 2, 2010, until Friday December 31, 2010. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk
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