One chilly Saturday morning, the twins, with Daddy and I headed into London on the tube to see The Snowman at the Peacock Theatre. Everyone was very excited as it meant Christmas was on its way!
We always love to do something in London every year around Christmas time with the children. There is such a buzz in the city and the lights and Christmas trees always look spectacular. The Snowman is the perfect Christmas day out for the whole family. It is easy to get to by tube being only a 5 minute walk from Holburn Station on the central line. After our performance, we took the 10 minute walk to Covent Garden to continue the festivities which, despite being busy, can highly recommend.
Having arrived at the Peacock Theatre in plenty of time, we took our seats and were ready for the show to begin. You could feel the excitement in the air throughout the theatre. Our seats were perfect. We were sat in the dress circle B12-15 and I can highly recommend these. The curtains were going up and the show was about to begin!
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The Snowman – The Show
The enchanting story of The Snowman, was written by Raymond Briggs and turned into a theatre production 22 years ago. The adaptation brings charm and excitement to the stage.
The Snowman has to be one of the best family theatre shows around. Having read the books and seen the film, the girls knew the storyline and were totally captivated throughout the entire performance. One thing that hadn’t crossed my mind was that there wouldn’t be any dialogue. In a way I presumed there would be, but now actually thinking about it, there isn’t in the film. The whole story was told through mime and dance. This didn’t take away the magic from the show, if anything it added to it. Everyone was mesmerised.
There was a quiet babble going on around the theatre from other children chattering but this didn’t spoil the show in any way. It was a child friendly performance and the beautiful orchestra over played the noise level so it wasn’t interfering and it was nice to know that it was ok for the children to talk quietly and be children!
The story of The Snowman
The story of the Snowman is about a boy who, after a night’s snowfall builds a snowman. At the Stroke of Mid-night the boy creeps down the stairs to find that amazingly, The Snowman has come to life.
The Boy and The Snowman start a fun adventure through the night. They begin by exploring the boys house. They play with the cat in the lounge and manage to duck away from his frightful claws on more than once occasion. They sneak up stairs to the Boys parents room where The Snowman hilariously puts in his dad’s false teeth, tries his mums make up on and borrows some clothes from the wardrobe. It has the audience laughing out loud.
In a scene in the kitchen, a pineapple, banana and coconut come bundling out of the fridge and continue to dance and play games before the Snowman decides to climb into the freezer for a lie down. Even without words, the marvellous acting keeps the storytelling alive and makes it easy to follow.
When the Boy and The Snowman find a motorcycle, they have great fun haring about the stage and I think the Boy actually has to hang on for dear life!! The girls loved the scene where a ballerina, soldier and teddy come to life, stamping and pirouetting around the stage, a magical moment for them.
It is now, at the point of take-off that the audience are totally captivated. The Snowman takes the Boy by the hand and they are off. Sensationally they fly into the nights sky to the famous Aled Jones tune, ‘We’re Walking in the Air’ at which point the whole audience gasps in amazement with a few added squeals from excited children. The twins included. Completely and utterly magical.
From here, the boy and The Snowman head off on a magical journey over sea and land where they eventually join a party full of more Snowmen. Chinese Snowmen, Snowmen in kilts and even Snowmen in top hats and tails. They all dance, laugh and play about together. The jolly music has everyone bouncing and clapping in their seats.
They finally meet Father Christmas and he gets even bigger cheers from the children in the audience! Father Christmas gives out gifts to everyone, including a new scarf to the Boy but the time has come for them to get on their way and fly home. The snowman returns home with the Boy and he creeps back off to bed.
The following morning, the Boy wakes up to find that the snowman has melted, leaving only his hat and coal buttons in a pile of snow. James reaches into his dressing-gown pocket and finds the scarf given to him at the party by Father Christmas.
The acting from the entire cast is just exquisite. To keep an audience captivated and on the edge of their seats for the time they do is amazing and a special mention has to go out to George XXX who plays the Boy. Absolutely fabulous acting and something for my girls little acting career to aspire to one day!!
How long is The Snowman performance?
The Snowman lasts an hour and fifty minutes with a 20 minute interval. The first half is longer than the second half. The twins coped fine and a few sweet treats definitely helped!
What age is The Snowman for?
It is a family performance so it suitable for all ages. The twins are 4 and it was perfect for them, however we did leave poor Matilda at home as we felt that she wouldn’t last the entire performance before wanting to get up and run about the aisles. We actually took the twins when they were just over 2 too. They don’t remember it but even then they sat beautifully. However, I know some children wouldn’t at this age so I would say it is up to each individual child.
When and where is The Snowman on?
The Snowman is on from the 21st November until the 5th January at the Peacock Theatre in London.
The Show is also playing in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Milton Keynes.
I have another great post on Things to do in London with Toddlers which you may also be interested to read for ideas on what you could do before or after the show.
GO ON, PIN IT
