A timely tale that should warm younger hearts

The Snow Queen is a rarity in the canon of classic fairytales, in that it doesn’t feature a princess in the central role

Aislinn O’Byrne, John Doran and Clodagh Mooney Duggan in The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen

Smock Alley

Until December 23

Rating:****

In Ian Toner’s ambitious retelling, Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Snow Queen, gets a distinct contemporary edge. The backdrop to the story is a world “without seasons”, where climate change has melted the polar regions and sent the Snow Queen into exile. Surviving cities operate like Venetian floodlands; children take gondolas to school and, without winter, Christmas has been banned.

The Snow Queen is ...