Originally written for Exeunt
This year’s Christmas show at the
Nuffield Theatre is a heart-warming tale of friendship, morality and
bravery. Adapted for the stage by Georgia Pritchett, The Snow Queen tells
the story of a lonely young girl, Gerda, whose only friend Kai is
kidnapped by the wicked title character. What follows is her pursuit to
save him, and the growth of the friendships that she makes along the
way. In this, we meet some truly charming characters and see some great
performances, most notably by Jack Shalloo as the Raven whose sharp
delivery prompts the most giggles in the audience between both kids and
adults. Nicola Munns brings a bright, sparkling energy to the stage as
the Princess (Snow White) and Robber Maiden (Little Red Riding Hood),
the latter of which inspiring something of a fan club amongst the girls
in the audience – a great outcome for the strong, independent female
character.
Jessie Hart’s performance as
Gerda is lovely, and she does a remarkable job with a character who is
short on depth. For the first half of the show it is a struggle to
understand why this irresistibly likeable girl is so staunchly adverse
to having a friend other than Kai. In theory, this should prompt a sense
of mystery to propel the story forwards, and draw an intriguing
symmetry between herself and the Snow Queen. Instead, it is confusing,
and would benefit from clearer, earlier indication that her reservations
are because she is scared, rather than unjustifiably dismissive.
Similarly, it is difficult to decide whether or not we are supposed to
warm to the Snow Queen, particularly as the performance by Natasha
Jayetileke is lacking in conviction, and only reaches discernable
intentions in the final moments of the show.
In her defence, this is a family
show, so we are not expecting a villain brimming with horror and menace
to scare the children. Nor do we expect cartoon characters who irritate
the adults, and to this extent, Pritchett has done right by the
audience. But in terms of the approach to comedy, the writing hits
neither mark. A joke built on the harmful stereotype that in a married
couple, the husband prefers the wife when she’s not talking, lands
uncomfortably. Regardless of whether the character is Snow White or
Sleeping Beauty, the potential connotations of the line, “I prefer my
women horizontal and unconscious” do not belong with an audience of
parents and children. Likewise, jokes built around an overtly camp –
though brilliantly performed – reindeer are just not useful, and I hope
we laughed primarily at his performance than at the idea of a man being
excited by other men.
It is almost the cosy, fun production that it sometimes promises to be, and the musical numbers are catchy and jaunty, if occasionally lyrically weak. On the whole, for a fix of seasonal spirits and some uplifting entertainment, it works a treat.
http://www.nuffieldtheatre.co.uk/