Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s enchanting production of The Snowman has been enthralling audiences for over 30 years and is the West End’s longest running Christmas show. This is a magical story about how a little boy’s snowman came to life on Christmas Eve, and then they set off together on a nighttime adventure.
And then, as the saying goes, it all begins – they meet Santa Claus, dancing penguins, reindeer and an endless number of snowman friends, having fun on the eve of the holiday. But the main intrigue of the play is whether the characters will be able to outwit the evil Jack Frost and return home on the next Christmas morning. For more information about the Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s outstanding production, please visit birmingham-trend.com.
Children’s picture book
This festive fairy tale story is based on the beloved book by Raymond Briggs. It is considered by some to be the greatest theatre production ever written. Whatever the case, that production was created at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1993. The music for the play was composed by Howard Blake. The play is an adaptation of the original book, and,of course,the classic cartoon, which was first shown on television in 1982 and has been broadcast every Christmas since then. What makes the show special is that it has no words, and everything is magically conveyed through beautiful music and visuals.
It should be noted here that The Snowman actually began as a children’s picture book without words. It was written by Raymond Briggs. The book was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1978. In 1982, the animation film company Television Cartoons took on the task of making an animated film of the same name. For this purpose, the animators developed their own version of the story together with Channel 4 TV and created a 26-minute cartoon. The cartoon was produced by John Coates and directed by Diane Jackson.
The cartoon was also without words, but its feature was a beautiful song in it, “Let’s Walk on Air”, sung by Peter Oti. Interestingly, Peter sang in a choir, being a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral. Moreover, Oti’s career soon took off and he became a famous opera tenor.
Both the music and lyrics were written by Howard Blake. He also composed and conducted the full orchestral score for the cartoon with his own orchestra, the London Symphony. This animated film was first shown on the same Channel 4 on Christmas Eve in 1982.
The film became instantly popular, and its success was so overwhelming that it was nominated for an Oscar and won prizes in France and Italy. In addition, its authors won the British Academy Award for Best Children’s Film in 1983. In addition, a video was released and various gifts related to The Snowman were produced.
Then, as they say, The Snowman went around the world to earn money for its creators. Thus, in 1983, Howard Blake wrote the voiceover for the recorded score and, using his remixed track from the cartoon, created an entire album, which was released both on vinyl and cassette. Bernard Cribbins was invited to play the role of narrator, and he coped with his task 100%.
Later, in December 1983, the City of London’s Barbican Theatre hosted the premiere of this sounded concert version. The performance was very popular with the audience and listeners, and a number of similar concerts were held in the UK. Later, the magic of The Snowman spread abroad. Faber Music also began publishing scores and parts for concert use. They were intended for both professional and amateur performances.
For example, any school orchestra could perform the song using a variety of arrangements, including instrumental versions for flute, violin, cello, guitar, block flute, etc. As a result, this quirky album went platinum in 1988, and when CBS Masterworks merged with Columbia/Sony, the successor changed, and the album was reissued on CD. The disc comes with an illustrated booklet.
Ballet “The Snowman”
As for the performance, for the first time in 1993, Howard Blake, in collaboration with choreographer Robert North, created an hour-long ballet. This event took place at the Stora Theatre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The authors add, no less than 30 minutes of new music. As for the design of the sets, costumes and lighting, Andrew Storer was responsible for them, and he successfully coped with his task.
The ballet had a successful season and was moved to the newly built Gothenburg Opera House in 1994, where it also enjoyed a successful run in 1995 and 1996. Three years later, in 1999, the ballet was staged at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Italy, and in 2001 and 2002 it was performed by the Royal Scottish Ballet. The Snowman was presented for a season in the main Scottish theatres.
“The Snowman” in Birmingham
As for Birmingham, England, it is known that immediately after the ballet appeared, in the summer of 1993, Howard Blake was approached by the artistic director of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Bill Alexander. He intended to invite the author to create a 90-minute stage performance. It was supposed to use only dance and pantomime.
So Howard Blake, with Robert North’s permission, used his newly composed score and created additional music and scenography. This made it possible to extend the performance by another half an hour. Robert was unable to choreograph the ballet because it was being staged in Sweden at the same time, where it opened in December 1993 with choreography by Pat Garrett.
The costumes and sets were designed by the famous Ruari Murchison. Howard then moved on to the Birmingham Theatre to compose the planned additional music. The production started in Birmingham on schedule, as planned, with 90 performances by the end of January 1994.
This production of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre is more than 30 years old, but its peculiarity is that it seems to get only more beautiful with age. Interestingly, both children and adults like the show. It is decorated with brightly coloured costumes and very interesting and intricate scenery. There is no shortage of lively choreography, and there is no need to talk about the beautiful, enchanting music. At the end of this extravaganza, the undoubted hit “Walk in the Air” sounds.
A performance you want to see again and again
For two hours, the audience of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre is transported to a Christmas wonderland. And where Christmas is, there is always room for a miracle. That is why snowmen come to life in the play, penguins dance, and, most importantly, true friendship overcomes all troubles.
Adults who come to this iconic performance will undoubtedly enjoy the subtle humour and irony offered by the authors. Children, on the other hand, will be watching with wide eyes at everything that is happening on stage and waiting for a miracle that they will surely believe will happen.
But isn’t it a miracle for children of five and six years old, when they see snow ‘falling’ on the stage, they are simply fascinated. And as the story unfolds, they will laugh at Santa clumsily trying to dance, they will be fascinated by the dancing reindeer and penguins, and so on. And when the show is over, the children will want to see it again, you can be sure.
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