The Snow Queen Review

The story follows Kai, played by Cameron Chalmers, and Gerda, played by Rosie Kahlon: best friends, around the age of 12, who love spending time together. That is, until Kai gets put under a spell by the stunning, yet sinister, Snow Queen, and Gerda must go on a quest to save him. 

It was a joy to watch Kahlon and Chalmers interact – they are two stars in the making with an animated quality that even Disney would be hard-pressed to recreate. In fact, it seemed a shame that Kai was taken under the Snow Queen’s spell, as it meant Chalmers got less time on stage for the rest of the show. In fact, we missed him so much that when he appeared again in Act 2 to dual role as a prince, you could almost hear the audience collectively cheering with delight. He was a safe pair of hands and an embodiment of pure entertainment.

Similarly, Kahlon put on just as impressive a performance. Her Gerda reminded me of Lyra from His Dark Materials – brave yet naive, bright eyed and pure hearted, you can’t help but warm to her character. As Gerda went along her journey, Khalon shone on stage and helped bring energy to the play so that it continued to romp along. The only moment I felt it lost momentum was when Gerda came across a nasty witch (played by Caitlin Wood); this scene felt slightly too long or maybe was lacking the dynamics of the rest of the show, but nonetheless the lull was short-lived, and the introduction of puppetry quickly brought it back to life.

Caitlin Wood was also the puppeteer, and she took on this role with ease. Her small and perceptive gestures when operating these beautiful puppets meant the animals were brought to life and well-loved by us as audience members. The crow in particular got a huge laugh when he started complaining about his “Mrs”, and I had goosebumps from the magical moment when the reindeer slowly appeared from the wings. My only complaint was that Wood came in front of the reindeer near the end of the play, obscuring our view and breaking the illusion.