For many, The Snowman is as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and awkward family dinners. Whether you know it from Raymond Briggs’ beloved book, the classic animation, or that hauntingly beautiful recording of Walking in the Air, it’s a story that’s deeply embedded in festive traditions. So it pains me to say that while The Snowman is a story that warms, it is a production that fizzles.
Let’s start with the good: the story itself is timeless. The Boy and his frosty friend embarking on a magical Christmas Eve adventure is a premise packed with potential. The costumes and set designs do a stellar job of bringing Briggs’ iconic illustrations to life, and the live five-piece orchestra is an absolute highlight. Honestly, the percussionist and woodwind player deserve their own ovation for injecting more energy into proceedings than the performers on stage managed to muster.
But here’s the thing, after 27 years, great visuals and music aren’t enough to carry a show that’s supposed to be a spectacle.
This is a dance production, but the choreography feels quite basic and lacks sparkle. Worse still, it lacks the precision that might have elevated it. The result? A performance that feels uninspired. Even the transitions between scenes are clunky, relying on GCSE Drama-style blackouts and curtain pulls that grind the momentum to a halt. When you have a stage full of highly trained professional dancers, why not use their skills to create magical transitions between the set pieces.
And while projections of falling snow add a festive touch, they feel like an afterthought. Why not use projections more creatively—to hide scene changes or enhance the storytelling? Instead, we’re left with awkward pauses that sap the magic from what should be a seamless, enchanting journey.
Walking in the Air. This is the moment everyone looks forward to—the crescendo of the story. Or, at least, it should be. Instead, we get a studio recording of the song while The Boy and The Snowman are hoisted into the air to wave at the audience for what feels like an eternity. Kids might be wowed by the sight of them “flying,” but for the grown-ups, it’s like watching someone slowly move a ladder across the stage.
Post-interval, things do pick up slightly. The North Pole scenes, with their parade of snowmen (a multicultural mishmash of characters including a cowboy and a Turkish snowman) and comedy penguins, bring some much-needed fun. Jack Frost and the Snow Princess inject a welcome burst of energy with their lively dancing, it is both well choreographed and well executed dancing that progresses the storytelling — but their moment is far too brief to save the show.
My issue with The Snowman isn’t that it’s bad—it’s that it feels lazy. At £50 a ticket, audiences deserve more than a production that feels stuck in the past, coasting on nostalgia. With so much competition in the world of family theatre which is significantly better executed at half the price, The Rep needs to step up its game. There’s potential here for something magical, but it’s buried under uninspired choreography, dull pacing, and a baffling lack of wow-factor.
I’ll give credit where it’s due: the orchestra is brilliant, the costumes are beautiful, and the story still tugs at the heartstrings. But this production feels like a snowman on a warm day—slowly melting into a puddle of mediocrity. If The Rep wants The Snowman to remain a Christmas staple beyond its already long 27 years, it needs a major overhaul. Lose the blackouts, reimagine the iconic flying scene, and inject some much-needed magic back into this festive classic.
The Snowman runs for 1 hour 50 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. If you do go, I hope you enjoy the music—at least that part is worth the price of admission.
⭐️ ⭐️
Comments