The Snow Queen: Scottish Ballet Treads Old Ground Though New Casting Brings Spellbinding New Experience

Review: The Snow Queen by Scottish Ballet, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 7^th January 2026

Since their last iteration of The Snow Queen, three years ago, Scottish Ballet have refined their take and choreography, with the same decadent costume, and sumptuous set design as previously. Their dance adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale does require a little previous familiarity going into Glasgow’s Theatre Royal, as this ambrosial take is in places a little difficult to follow, though the crux of the narrative is clear. 

Choreographed yet again by Christopher Hampson (CEO and Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet) and designed by the award-winning Lez Brotherston (also yet again), the scenes are pummelled with detail and delightful dance, with three key scenes being particular stand-outs. There’s the heavier-footed dance of the travellers as Gerda is seeking out her Kai, the circus rolling into town with the slapstick dance of the emotive clowns, and the more chilling intimate moments between the Queen and Kai in the Ice Palace, while he is bewitched and under her spell.

As we’ve seen before, with this dazzling Andersen tale, there is much that the Scottish Ballet can embroil to take it to a whole new level and mesmerise their audiences.

Notable is, of course, the set design, the live Scottish Ballet Orchestra in the pits performing the music arrangement of Richard Honner, and the stunning performance by this year’s Snow Queen, Jessica Fyfe, who sublimely weaves us through one of Andersen’s most highly acclaimed stories, and transports us to this fantastic struggle between good and evil.

In essence, Fyfe along with the acrobats, clowns, travellers and Bruno Micchiardi’s Kai, transport us to a bewitching time, through their grace and rigour which though recently adapted by the Scottish Ballet, it feels like a whole new experience there to inhale. It’s a spellbinding, though perhaps overly familiar performance.

The Snow Queen runs at Theatre Royal, Glasgow until 17th January, before going on to Aberdeen and Inverness. 

Main photo credit: Andy Ross