A festive production at a Sale theatre is bringing a new version of a famous story to audiences

The Snow Queen is at Waterside Arts, being staged by Leeds-based family theatre company Wrongsemble. 

The original story is about a queen, living in a world of ice, who kidnaps a character named Kay. The story follows Kay’s friend, Gerda, trying to rescue him. 

However, this musical adaptation has its own tale to tell. It follows a girl named Lumi who notices the weather isn’t behaving as it should. As the Snow Queen controls it, who in this show is a drag queen, Lumi embarks on an adventure - while making some friends along the way to find out why the snow hasn’t fallen for years. 

Claire Saville, marketing manager for Waterside Arts, said: “The decision to choose The Snow Queen for Waterside this Christmas was one that was made much earlier on this year by management in house.”

Emily Lyons, also a marketing manager for Waterside Arts, said: “We have worked with Wrongsemble before on a previous production called ‘The Not So Ugly Sisters’, so we know them to be a theatre company which produces very high quality family theatre, which is engaging to our audiences, and we felt The Snow Queen was a really good fit for our venue this festive season.”

The show hosted its opening night on Wednesday, November 29 and is running until Saturday, December 30.

Elvi Piper, director of The Snow Queen, recently said why the decision was made to change main Snow Queen character, Madge, into a non binary character and said: “We thought it was a wonderful way to bring a new version of this famous character to life. In recent years drag has become a hugely mainstream and popular artform delighting all ages - and Madge does exactly that in our show.

"As a company we also want to represent the diversity of the world we live in, and this festive season our company represents diversity and inclusion in its many forms. Everyone is welcome at a Wrongsemble show, both on and off stage".

It is a performance suitable for the whole family, but recommended for those aged four and over.

Ticket prices start as low as £7 on selected dates as part of a ‘low income package’ and the performance is approximately 60 minutes long, with no interval. Book here - https://waterside.ticketline.co.uk/the-snow-queen-at-waterside