The Snow Queen
★★★★☆ A magical adventure
Festival theatre: Thurs 27 Nov -Sun 7 Dec 2025
Review by Sophie Good
The Snow Queen from the Scottish Ballet brings a flurry of icy magic to the Festival Theatre this November before touring to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Created by artistic director Christopher Hampson and designer Lez Brotherston to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary in 2018, this adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale has also borrowed some elements from the ever-popular Disney film Frozen.
L to R Soloist Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, Principal Bruno Micchiardi, and First Artists Andrea Azzari and James Garrington in The Snow Queen. Pic: Andy Ross.
Musical arranged Richard Honner has used Rimsky-Korsakov’s compositions from his opera The Snow Maiden as well as some other pieces from his catalogue of theatrical music. The final score is varied and atmospheric – creating three distinct worlds of the Snow Queen’s Palace, the circus and traveller life and the deep dark woods.
The story follows the journey of three female characters each on their own journeys. The Summer Princess (Melissa Polsen) who, with the help of her Snow Queen sister sees a vision in her enchanted mirror of a mysterious man. This vision compels the Princess to transform into her alter ego Lexi and set out on a mission to find her man.
quest
The second is Gerda (Kayla-Maree Tarantolo), the most human of the three, who is recently engaged to her childhood sweetheart Kai, the man in the mirror. She loses Kai to the Snow Queen’s enchantment and must go on a quest and bring him back. The third is the Snow Queen herself (Jessica Fyfe), who is determined to bring her sister home to avoid the loneliness of the Ice Palace.
Soloist Kayla-Maree Tarantolo as Gerda, Bruno Micchiardi as Kai and Jessica Fyfe as The Snow Queen. Pic: Andy Ross.
Our junior reviewer said it was useful to have read the synopsis and watched the videos (available online) first, just to have some idea of what was going on.
Even without knowing the story there is plenty to entertain with dazzling sets and costumes, and the exuberance of the circus coming to town with its acrobats, clowns, strong man and fortune teller in especially likely to capture the younger audience’s attention.
dazzling performance
There is no age suitability given, but our eight year-old junior reviewer loved it. If in doubt, the timings might be a useful guide: the 40 minute first half is followed by a 45 minute second half after a 25 minute interval.
The second act opens on the circus traveller’s camp with a live fire and Gillian Rissi as a solo violinist onstage whose technically dazzling performance is a joy to watch and gives the dancers a real vibrancy.
Scottish Ballet Orchestra Principal Violinist Gillian Risi in The Snow Queen. Pic: Andy Ross.
The fortune teller Mazelda (Grace Horler) and the ring master (Benjamin Thomas) are well drawn characters, with a more grounded dance style who bring in a sense of warmth and humanity.
There are, however, a couple of moments which are lost in the staging.
The spectacular circus set was placed so far to the left of the stage, that it was outwith the sight-lines of much of the audience. A shame, as a brief lean-round suggested it was amazing. Our young reviewer was certainly disappointed not to be able to see it.
harder to decipher
Then there are the ice shards from the Snow Queen’s mirror which are used at several points. Whether it was their size or the lighting, they weren’t visible from the audience, so those moments were harder to decipher. Otherwise, Paul Bryant’s lighting is moody and atmospheric.
A scene from Scottish Ballet’s The Snow Queen. Pic: Andy Ross
Despite these points, it is an engaging tale – one in which each of the female leads is on a quest to get what they want. Kai played with empathy by Bruno Micchiardi is very much a secondary character and it is a more feminist tale in that respect.
The two sisters are reunited at the end and disappear into the back of the stage. There could have been more exploration of the friendship and bond to understand how or why Lexi went back to becoming the summer princess and if they were happy to live out their sisterly bond in isolation.
The reunion between Gerda and Kai is far more successful with a lovely transformation back to their mirrored movement and endearing relationship that they had at the beginning.
dancing is the real star
The dancing is the real star of the show of course and this is flawless throughout from the principal dancers to the junior associates. The snow wolves, danced by Hannah Cubitt and Danila Marzilli, are full of character and their fluffy costumes prevent them from appearing too scary.
Snow Wolves in The Snow Queen. Credit Andy Ross
What is a real treat, especially for those perhaps new to ballet, is the full live Scottish Ballet Orchestra, lit well enough to see them throughout. Our young reviewer was amazed by the sheer variety of musical instruments: there are even two glockenspiels in this production. The percussion in particular help to tell the story of the icy magic; contrasting with the human warmth of the circus.
enjoyable and high-quality
The overall effect is highly atmospheric, particularly if you are seeing it on a cold winter’s night. The production is flawless: full of sparkle and high value set and costumes. It’s a real joy to experience a full live orchestra and the young company – from the junior associates to student dancers as well as the principal dancers all come together to create the magic.
All told, this is an enjoyable and high-quality production which will leave you feeling cosy and festive.
Running time: One hour and 50 minutes (including one interval)
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT.
Thurs 27 Nov – Sun 7 Dec 2025
Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Sats, Sun 30: 2.30pm; Sun 7: 1.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 3QA
Sat 3 – Sat 17 Jan 2026
Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Suns & Sat 10, Sat 17: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
21 – 24 Jan 2026
Eden Court, Inverness
28 – 31 Jan 202
ENDS
