This year promised a sea-change at Kingston’s Rose Theatre – which has become notorious for not getting its Christmas fayre right – with four seasonal story houses erected as a ‘Snow Queen trail’ through the town centre (until Dec 23) for children to visit and hear Hans Christian Andersen’s tales at various times of the day, and much made of Su Blackwell’s magical stage design.
Unfortunately, expectations quickly melt in a laboured production which is far too confusing for little ones –- surely the target market – and, unlike last year’s offering, not spectacular enough for anyone else.
The diminutive Bettrys Jones, perfectly cast as Gerda, is full of wonder, innocence and resilience as she journeys through the seasons to rescue her friend Cei and defeat the Snow Queen, but she can’t do it all and even with a helping hand and the occasional glimpse of panto from Michael Matus, there appears to be little that can get this heavy show off the ground.
Quite how a simple fairy tale can be made so difficult is hard to fathom, but it was succinctly summed up at the final curtain by the young boy in front of me who turned to his grandmother and complained, ‘But nothing’s happened?’ An astute review from a seven-year-old.