The Snowman

It’s the 25th anniversary of Birmingham Reps classic adaption of The Snowman and this season is dedicated to Raymond Briggs (1934-2022), the creator of the beautiful book on which it’s based. The stage show has become a staple festive outing for families with young children and it was a treat to see it again this year through the eyes of a toddler who (normally unable to concentrate for two minutes) sat entranced for the full hour and half.

If you don’t know the book, it’s the tale of a friendship between a boy and his Snowman, told in pictures over one magical night. It inspired the touching animated film in 1982 with soundtrack by Composer Howard Blake and the unforgettable, ‘We’re walking in the air’ sung by Aled Jones when he was a wee choir boy. Translating the story onto the stage through movement and dance with a live orchestra made complete sense when it was originally conceived and 25 years later it remains unspoiled, in fact it has additional nostalgic charm.

A little boy wakes up and stretches before climbing out of bed and wiping the condensation from the window to peer outside. The landscape is covered with snow. Driven by the glorious soundtrack from the film, the cast of 22 dancers take us from these quiet beginnings on adventure to the North Pole where dancing penguins, a frosty villain and Father Christmas all dance and play with the boy and his Snowman.

It’s a gentle production with some magical moments. Expect actual flying from the duo when ‘We’re walking in the air’ begins and all the whole audience stretched their arms in the air to catch the snow falling in the auditorium at the end. At our performance, The Snowman himself made an appearance at the interval to great excitement and was later seen heading down in a glass elevator, presumably trying to escape the adoring mob.