Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
The Snow Queen, Park Theatre London
Dazzling production of classic children's story the perfect seasonal treat
ON A JOURNEY: The Snow Queen cast

NORTH LONDON’S small but elegant Park Theatre seems an unlikely venue to carry such a visually spectacular show as this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen.

But director Abigail Anderson manages to pull off another successful Christmas show to add to the theatre’s impressive list.

Charles Way’s version brings life to Andersen’s classic about a young girl’s battle to save her best friend from the evil Snow Queen and the world from eternal winter, with plenty of original and punchy songs — far more understated than the usual brash Christmas musicals or pantomimes — maintaining momentum.

In a relatively small space, with the actors only feet away from the audience, set and costume designer Gregor Donnelly deploys few props but has managed to create an imaginative design which transforms into the various parts of the world during the different seasons Gerda encounters on her epic journey with ease.

Perhaps most spectacular of all is the Snow Queen’s Ice Palace, symbolised by the huge broken-mirror pieces dangling on the wall.

There are universally strong performances from the cast, with Esmonde Cole and Ayesha Casely-Hayford playing the equally charming Cei and Gerda respectively. They're never too over-the-top childish, while Frances Marshall’s Snow Queen is as icy and fiendish as you would expect.

There's a wonderful mix of fantasy, horror and wonder which makes Andersen’s classic so timeless and this adaptation is a heartwarming and fun treat which, unlike many Christmas shows, will entertain kids and grown-ups alike.

Runs until January 4, box office: parktheatre.co.uk

 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
INTO THE ARCHIVES: (Left) an newspaper clipping about Peach
Features / 25 March 2025
25 March 2025
The murder of an anti-racist protester in 1979 by a special unit of the Met Police was followed by a gruelling battle to win answers about what happened on that tragic day. Now material related to that campaign is available to the public and researchers for the first time at the Bishopsgate Institute. INDIANNA PURCELL reports
HEMMED IN: Andrew Turner and Polly Frame in I Think We Are A
THEATRE / 13 March 2020
13 March 2020
Sombre notes in tragicomic take on the fear of solitude
Theatre / 10 December 2019
10 December 2019
Fantasy fun for young children
]Superb: Liv Hill as Angie and Katherine Kingsley as Marlene
Theatre Review / 7 April 2019
7 April 2019
Caryl Churchill's classic from the 1980s is a damning indictment of the impact of Thatcherism on women and it's lost none of its relevance
Similar stories
Hiba Medina as Antiya in Antigone (On Strike) 
Theatre Review / 4 February 2025
4 February 2025
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
FRIEND OR ANEMONE? Liana Cottrill as The Little Mermaid
Theatre Review / 12 December 2024
12 December 2024
SIMON PARSONS is swept away on the running tide of a dynamic new version of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale
Nikki Cheung as Karen in the Red Shoes
Theatre review / 18 November 2024
18 November 2024
GORDON PARSONS is filled with unease by the RSC’s offering of a brutal fairytale for Christmas
Miles Molan, Rosie Day and Tok Stephen in When It Happens to
Theatre review / 7 August 2024
7 August 2024
SIMON PARSONS salutes drama that registers how the impact of the sexual assault ripples out through every element of a family’s existence