Review: The Snow Queen

Taking a break from our recent mini heatwave, The Minotaur Theatre Company took a trip to the frosty town of Grimsville for a night of musical and theatrical delight.

The Minotaur Theatre Company’s latest performance took us out of the comforts of UEA Drama Studio and into The Garage. This was the perfect home for Milli Bhatia and Chris White’s adaptation of Hans Christen Anderson’s The Snow Queen. Using a minimalistic set and props to fire the audience’s imagination, they put a unique spin on a classic and made it comical and family-friendly. A live Disney production in our very own Norwich.

The plot took us around Grimsville as the determined Gerda, played excellently by Josie Dale Jones, led the quest to find her brother Kai. Freddie Van de Velde was endearing as the skilled puzzler, entrapped by the Snow Queen’s evil curse. Gerda was accompanied on her quest by a mish-mash of fairytale favourites, with stand-out performances from Jack Sears and Eve Schutz as the hilarious Hansel and Gretel. Goldie, Red, love-struck Jack and the infamous Huntsman joined the group and faced trolls, treacherous roads and even some magic beans in an attempt to rescue Kai from the Queen’s icy clutches.

Unusually for Minotaur, we were treated to the company’s vocal talents. Aside from the odd Pied saxophonist, all sounds affects and accompaniments were provided vocally on stage by cast members. In the midst of rap battles and rhythmic beats, Greta Mitchell stole the show with her beautifully crisp vocals, as she sang about murdering the entrapped Kai.

Props and set for the performance were minimal. Snow fell in the form of torn up books, and carriages were made from bodies and umbrellas. With actors dancing between characters across the night, the costume and make-up crew worked skilfully to mould each actor to their role. Above all else the night demonstrated the importance of the entire cast and crew to a performance.

There was no doubt about the sheer talent of the cast of The Snow Queen, but what really shone through was the close-knit nature of the company, along with the writing skills of Bhatia and White – proving that what goes on behind the scenes is just as important as what we see on stage.