Jessica Fyfe as The Snow Queen and Bruno Micchiardi as Kai in The Snow Queen. Photo by Andy Ross

Written by Kerry for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Scottish Ballet’s winter treat “The Snow Queen” transports its audience to a world similar to post-war Britain, where the summer princess, Lexi, runs away from her sister, the Snow Queen, after being shown a vision through her mirror of Lexi’s “true love”, unaware he is already in love with someone else. The Queen, to get her sister back, casts a spell on Kai to worship her, using him as a pawn to get back her sister. His fiancée, Gerda journeying to the ice palace to save him.

Setting the show around the fifties gives a charm and lived-in quality to the piece, where everything has a layer of dirt and memory to it. Paul Pyant’s choice of using cold temperature stage lights with warm golden onstage accents to create a snow-globe-like effect, which becomes noticeable once you’ve looked back at the stage after a moment away. This extends into the second act, where reflective silver, almost like mirrors, cuts into the tree landscape. During group numbers, especially, the lighting creates shadows on the backdrop, forming an illusion that the routine is simultaneously being performed in another realm, reminiscent of the opening titles of “Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses” (deep cut, I know, but if you’ve watched it, you get it). At the beginning of both acts, a stage curtain with a cutout that resembles shattered glass serves as a setup, also revealing the intentions of the Snow Queen. The use of projections as an overlay on the curtain helps pull the audience into the world of the production, removing the somewhat jarring changes in setting that audiences can experience in the theatre.

Like past productions, Lex Brotherson OBE uses costumes to immerse the audience into the world it’s exploring. Both of Lexi’s costumes reflect her differences from other characters. With her sister, they are both in similar dresses but colours that represent their seasons. Whilst Lexi and Gerda wear contrasting colours, the red Gerda wears, appearing in Kai’s blue jumper, and vice versa in her dress, tells the audience how compatible their souls are. The contrast between Lexi and Gerda continues through to their artistry of movement, Gerda’s reflecting more that of a prima ballerina; every movement is intentional and performed with diction. Lexi’s in comparison acts with a sense of flow, which seems more like the modern take on ballet we have been seeing in the past couple of decades. The circus ensemble’s costumes keep within the period of the piece; their outfits are detailed, mainly by using patterned fabrics, but don’t cross over into the line of extravagant, almost like they’ve been rationed in materials and used what was available to them. This continues into the fortune-tellers during the second act, their costumes simple in design, but fabric choices make their skirts act like moving tapestries.

As someone who grew up dancing all through primary school, I’ve always had a soft spot for ballet, and this past year have become even more infatuated with the art form. Before this production, I knew very little about “The Snow Queen”, like most people, only knowing its inspiration and adaptation into the Disney franchise “Frozen”. The Snow Queen herself, Jessica Fyfe, performs each movement with intense dramatisation, creating dancing motifs with characters, proving her dominance over them. Her two wolves (who I first thought were llamas until I realised that made no sense) gliding her across the stage on pointe, their loyalty to their masters. And Kai, resting his head upon her hand, showing the worship she has cursed onto him. Whilst Kai and Gerda have moments of teasing one another, they establish their relationship to the audience. Especially as the source material tells us that the two grew up together, living next door to each other and being able to get home by climbing through a window without ever having to touch the ground.

The Scottish Ballet’s “The Snow Queen" dances between warmth and coldness without ever clashing. The production, whilst feeling rushed, especially in its conclusion, provides a mixture of classical and modern ballet to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov.

The Snow Queen plays at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until 7 December 2025 before heading to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.

★ ★ ★ ★

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