The Snow Queen
Helix, Dublin
★★★★☆
It’s 18 years since Theatreworx first brought the fictional town of Merryville to the stage. A recurring setting for the company’s annual pantomime, Merryville is a fluid kind of fairy-tale land where characters from various worlds collide in the service of storytelling.
In The Snow Queen, then, it’s no surprise to find the seasonal scoundrel Jack Frost (Michael Kiersey) stepping into the limelight as villain-in-chief; a forest haunted by (K-pop?) demons whose true identity it would be a shame to reveal; and Troy Parrott making a heroic appearance on screen in the final showdown.
Claire Tighe, the production’s director, doesn’t try to overcome the silvery shadow that Disney’s adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale casts over the titular fable. Indeed, she is upfront that this is the story of two estranged, familiar-looking princesses, Hannah (Rachel Gaughan) and Elsie (Susan McFadden).
The rest of the tale that Tighe spins with her cowriter, Karl Harpur, is wildly original. The romantic elements provided by Stephen O’Leary’s Christopher and Brian Dalton’s Buddy are played down in favour of references to a variety of cultural touchstones from 2025, which provide much of the plot’s wacky energy.
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The standout scene, which takes place in the Cave of Shrinking Shadows, is completely random and doesn’t move the action on a bit!
It has been heartening to watch the growing confidence of Theatreworx’s productions. Sets by Aidan Mannion, with Eileen Ryan, have grown in ambition and execution, as have the costumes by Rita Tighe, which come into their own in The Snow Queen during an impressive transformation scene.
Song-and-dance routines make the inevitable nods to the pop-music soundtrack of 2025, while the music, directed by David Hayes, and choreography, by Jen Dawson and Tarik Shebani, are performed so effortlessly by a child and adult ensemble that it’s easy to overlook the craft behind it all.
The Theatreworx panto never veers far from the traditional form, and yet, with its well-honed script, it manages to never be formulaic, offering the most fun panto experience in Dublin year on year.
Just be careful where you sit: the kiss cam will be roaming, and Lola (Chris Corroon) is only dying to find someone to compromise.
The Snow Queen is at the Helix, Dublin, until Sunday, January 11th
