Last Updated on November 29, 2025
Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s Seasonal Hit Returns
4.0 out of 5.0 starsThe Snowman: in a word, charming. The stage production of Raymond Briggs’ tale of a young boy’s friendship with a snowman and their fantastic Christmastime flight to the North Pole has been packing the Peacock Theatre for 28 years and counting; it’s not unthinkable that some of the young parents taking their offspring to The Snowman this year first saw it themselves as children.
Whatever your age, it’s impossible not to be won over by the many weird and wonderful characters that populate this show, be in the real world – think, for example, dancing fruit – or in the magical, snow-carpeted home of Father Christmas, whose arrival, his generous proportions encased in the traditional white fur-trimmed red suit, topped by a long white beard, never fails to bring about the loudest stir of excitement among the young audience.
And for all that this Snowman, a Birmingham Repertory Theatre production, has been running for almost three decades, every year the show looks and feels fresh and newly energised.
Raymond Briggs’s 1978 illustrated book, The Snowman, is aimed at young children and is, therefore, quite short, but it’s captivating, and over the years it’s provided the starting point for a number of adaptations, starting with a relatively unassuming half-hour animation created for Channel 4 in 1982, which has been broadcast every Christmas season since. A large part of its charm came from the musical score especially created by the prolific composer Howard Blake, anchored by the ethereal song, ‘Walking in the Air’.
The song became a hit in its own right three years later, when it was recorded by the then-boy-wonder Aled Jones, and hit number three in the charts.
Then, The Snowman became a full-length ballet in Gothenburg, Sweden, directed and choreographed by Robert North, the man who would eventually be persuaded by his friend Howard Blake to create the choreography for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s definitive production, dance-theatre with a sprinkle of ballet.
It starts in The Boy’s home, as he is preparing to go to bed. The home is framed by snow-covered trees, their chilly white contrasting with the warm colours of the home interior. Ruari Murchison’s vivid designs, with their mix of reality and magic, beautifully lit by Tim Mitchell, are immensely appealing.
Overnight, the Snowman lovingly built by The Boy comes to life. They become instant friends, and the Boy shows him around the house, where his now oversized toys come to life. A music box ballerina performs a dainty dance; a toy soldier stomps around menacingly, pointing his gun at everything and everyone, and narrowly avoiding being hit by a speeding toy train.
Opening the fridge door brings about a dance by a pineapple, a coconut and a slender banana. A range of cuddly toys each have their own little dances.
My own personal preference was for the black cat, who was curled up asleep on an outsize armchair and wasn’t too happy to be disturbed by Boy and Snowman. My next favourite bit was when a life-size motorbike, complete with side car, materialised to take Snowman and Boy on a little journey.
The flight to the North Pole, Snowman and Boy suspended by invisible cables, is truly enchanting, with the various phases of the journey denoted by passing figures in the background: an iceberg, a passenger ship and, my own favourite, a glitter-spouting whale.
Finally, in the North Pole, the visitors are greeted by Father Christmas, who arrives riding a sleigh pulled by three slender-legged reindeer, whose little dance is delicate and elegant, in contrast with, say, that of Jolly Snowman and the Cowboy Snowman.
There is, of course, an Ice Princess, the object of the unwanted affection of the baddie, aka Jack Frost, both performed by proficient ballet dancers.
You wouldn’t be surprised to learn that bad Jack Frost is excluded from Father Christmas’s round of present giving; everybody else has their own personalised Christmas gift, the two penguins receiving properly wrapped fish.
All good things come to an end, and The Boy wakes up to find the Snowman has melted… Was it all a dream, then? Maybe… maybe not…
The Snowman benefits hugely from live music performed with gusto and delicacy by a five-piece ensemble directed by Gemma Hawkins. In such a busy cast, actors take on several roles, and three young thespians alternate as The Boy. I saw Henry Treharne and was impressed: The Boy is on stage literally for the whole show, and to a large extent carries it – it’s his story. Young Henry carried it all effortlessly and with no small amount of charisma. He was more than a match for the estimable performers of Birmingham Repertory Theatre, directed by Bill Alexander.
The Snowman is an ideal Christmas show for children; sure, a notch or two down from The Nutcracker, whose format – Act I in real life, Act II in fantasy land – it follows, but no less enchanting for that.
The Snowman is at the Peacock Theatre from 22 November 2025 to 4 January 2026
Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street
London WC2A 2HT
Looking for something different? Check our review of Ballet Shoes, currently showing at the National Theatre
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