Mr Snow is a seasonal production at the Leeds Playhouse which is aimed at toddlers and young children from the age of 3 upwards. On a wet and cold afternoon, my three year old daughter Rosie and I went along to the show, with me wondering just how much of her attention would be captured by the 60 minute performance.
Rosie was offered a penguin hat on the way in – which I would encourage parents to take up as the “penguins” do have a role to play in some of the more interactive aspects of the performance.
Mr Snow is the story of a snow enthusiast, who gathers samples of different types of snow (happy snow, slow snow, even elephant snow) and studies them, trying to pass on his knowledge to his son Blessyou. There is fun to be had from Blessyou’s ineptness (a gentle performance from Jayden Reid) and the enthusiastic teacher his father most definitely is.
Mr Snow is played with a huge amount of energy by Craig Painting, with a very physical performance throughout, making quite the entrance into the theatre. This is a two man show with Bless You and his father Mr Snow having enough energy between them to hold the hour-long performance. The dialogue is constantly accompanied by signing – there was a row of deaf children in front of us so it was encouraging to see how accessible the production was.
As this was a very young audience, the show needed to be interactive and have very physical performances from the actors. For the large part of the performance, this happened – with the actors speaking to ‘the penguins’, some funny slapstick moments with great accompanying music and even in one instance, the use of some fantastic puppetry.
My daughter did ask to leave once or twice during a 10 minute stretch of dialogue which was starting to test the concentration spells of the younger members of the audience, but other than that, she was drawn in for most of the time – even if some of it was spent sitting on a step rather than a seat (she is 3 after all…).
As you would expect (and hope!) with a performance with this target audience age, there is plenty of ‘snow’ being thrown around with the performers not being confined to the stage but from time to time, venturing out into the theatre. These were its strongest moments, along with some more emotionally reflective parts involving family memories which even three year old Rosie seem to be connecting with, her body language showing she was absorbing the emotions being expressed on stage. There is a snow related joke which should definitely bring a smile to the face of the adults as well.
The audience was largely older toddlers and younger primary schoolchildren who for the majority of the performance seemed to be loving the show. The energy definitely increased as the show went along and got past the dialogue-heavy stage, with the second half an hour getting the most laughs and interaction.
After the show I reflected that my son who is six probably would have really enjoyed it, as well as my three year old daughter. Her review was “I love the theatre” which I think is a win for her first trip. I think children between the ages of three and seven would really enjoy this.
Mr Snow runs at Leeds Playhouse until 4 January 2025. Full details and tickets at: www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk/event/mr-snow
This post was written by reader Becky Howcroft in return for two free tickets, as part of South Leeds Goes To The Playhouse.
Main photo: Craig Painting (Mr Snow) in Mr Snow. Credit: Charlie Swinbourne
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