September 1993, and the animated short film and its accompanying theme tune Walking In The Air had already secured their places as Christmas classics in the hearts of the nation. The REP’s then Artistic Director, Bill Alexander approached Howard Blake, to ask how he’d feel about working with The REP to create a full length stage version of The Snowman. Howard convinced Bill that the way forward for The Snowman should be a full length dance piece, for which he would write more music, and more characters could be added. Bill was convinced, and the show opened at The REP for Christmas 1993.
Returning to Birmingham Rep, where it all began, and now in its 18th year the piece certainly feels its age – tired, and in need of a revamp.
The story begins when the Boy wakes to find snow on the ground, and decides to build a snowman. As the Snowman comes to life, the adventure unfolds. A tour of the house, involving an encounter with a playful cat, among an assortment of dancing fruits and then moving to Lapland in the second act where they meet a number of friends, including Santa ensues.
Oscar Couchman holds the show together ably, barely leaving the stage throughout the duration of the performance. He has a certain clumsy playfulness which suits the character. It is hard to tell just how good a dancer James Leece is under the restrictive costumer of the Snowman – I daresay he must be physically exerting more effort than it appears to make the characters gestures read.
There are a few nice moments in the performance, the Snowman’s duet with a ballerina being an example, and the Boy and the Snowman do well as they are hoisted into the air during the famous flying scenes. But the scene changes are too frequent, braking the concentration of the audience, and we have to wait until the second act until we get any form of antagonist in the form Jack Frost.
Aimed at a younger generation, the piece fails to be truly engaging and magical as one presumes it should: silence is usually a good indicator of whether or not the children in the audience are truly drawn in by the action, and there was a lot of high pitched chatter throughout the auditorium.
The Snowman still has its charm, and children are still likely to enjoy the piece: Ruari Murchison’s snow globe inspired set was elegant, and the dancing was a good standard – but the piece falls just short of the mark, perhaps not helped by the fact that Christmas has now been and gone for another year. ★★★☆☆ Sam Chipman 21st January 2016
