When the curtain goes up on this Caledonian Snow Queen, the view is both familiar and strange. Familiar, because we recognise the austere silhouette of Edinburgh’s Castle Rock at the back of Emily James’s set, as well as the curve of the theatre’s balcony reflected back at us as if we were looking in a mirror. But strange, because the rococo flourishes of the balcony seem to be morphing into the sides of a sledge. Lizzie Powell’s lights turn them an icy turquoise. Imagination has taken a grip on this looking-glass landscape.
There is something familiar and strange too about Morna Young’s adaptation, staged by Cora Bissett in a bold, expansive and richly musical production. She follows Hans Christian Andersen’s tale in outline with the expected story of 12-year-old Gerda (Rosie Graham) whose best friend Kei (Sebastian Lim-Seet) has been captured and corrupted by the Snow Queen (Claire Dargo). But in detail, she takes a wintry route of her own.
