WILL STONE is frustrated by a performance that chooses to garble the lyrics and drown the songs in reverb
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.
After a ruinous run at Tolkien, the streaming platforms are moving on to Narnia — a naff mix of religious allegory, colonial attitudes, and thinly veiled prejudices that is beyond rescuing, writes STEPHEN ARNELL



