The Snow Queen - Chester Storyhouse Originals - 13th December 2022

So! This is my first time writing a review for something that isn’t an Amazon order… but I wanted to give it a go and let the world know about my theatre experiences!

On Tuesday 13th December 2022, myself and my Sister-in-Law, Sarah, were kindly invited by Chester Storyhouse to the press night of their Christmas Originals production The Snow Queen. I knew very little about the story of the Snow Queen before going into it, so I was excited to watch the show and feel the wintery air all around me.

I want to start by saying that the venue itself is absolutely beautiful. If you’ve never been to the Storyhouse, I wholly recommend it. Not only is there a theatre inside, it’s also home to an independent cinema, a library and community spaces. It feels so warm and inviting from the second you walk in. I think it’s one of my favourite venues I’ve been to.

The last time I came to the City of Chester was to see the “Time Traveller’s Wife” (which was amazing!!) and I thought I knew what the theatre space looked like… BOY, Was I wrong?!

The whole stalls section was gone! The stage was placed in this area meaning, the Circle was the lower level and the Grand Tier was the only upper level. It is such a clever staging design as it brings the audience closer to the production and makes them feel much more immersed in the story. The audience entrance doors were also used by the performers throughout the show too, which again brought a higher sense of immersion.

The show kicked off with some lovely Nordic sounding music that really set the wintery and mystic scene led by Musical Director Mared Williams. The music and vocals from the whole band throughout the show were very fitting with the scene on stage and sounded beautiful to listen to. I’d listen to it on Spotify as part of my chill playlist!

The story then kicked off with young Cai (Taona Matope) getting some of the Snow Queen’s (Lucy Tuck) Magic Mirror glass in his eye, which causes him to fall under her spell. His friend Gerda (Rosemarie Akwafo) then searches high and low throughout the seasons to find Cai and save him from the Evil Snow Queen. Along the way we meet a cast of hilarious characters such as Mrs Dear, (Flo Wilson), Frederica (Kate Malyon), Bae the Reindeer (Tom Richardson), Daffodil (Will Kirk) and Robber Girl (Chloe Wade).

Although a relatively small cast, they did an amazing job at playing multiple different characters all fleshed out with different personalities and humorous gags. The stand out scene for me was on the beach where Barbie-like characters were preparing for a wedding. This had the audience laughing all the way through and the use of physical comedy from all the cast on stage was a real highlight.

I will say, the first act felt a little long and like not much happened within the story. I don’t know if this is because I was unaware of the story prior to coming into it but I feel that you shouldn’t need prior knowledge for any production. The second act did a very good job of bringing everything together and was the much stronger half of the show.

I mentioned the theatre “redesign” for this show earlier and part of that was an outstanding set which moved around the stage throughout each scene. One side showed the inside of Gerda and Cai’s homes before it flipped round to show an icy mountain face.

There was also a great use of a trap door in the stage which brought characters through it such as the Roses in Mrs Dear’s garden. There were little additions in each scene to really make you feel like you were right there with them such as beach balls on the beach (who’d have thought?!), darker lamps and foliage in the Autumn and some lovely flowers in the Garden.

Overall, this is a great Storyhouse Originals production and is fun for all the family. Tickets start from £18 and the show schedule plus more information can be found in the link below.

https://www.storyhouse.com/event/the-snow-queen

Story ⭐⭐⭐

Cast ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Music ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐