The title "Once upon a Snowflake" does not do justice to this creative, innovative children's show at the Chelsea Theatre which offers an imaginative, fun hour of family entertainment . Developed by Russian Theatre Director Maria Litvinova it draws strongly from the style of Russian fairy folklore and uses shadow puppetry to tell the story of Liza and the winter sprites. The producers Paper Balloon Company , for whom Alex Kanefsky is artistic director and Dorie Kinnear is a founding member, specialise in theatre for young people.
The magic starts as we enter the black box theatre to see Joseph Hardy playing the piano and over the following ten minutes he gradually adds more instruments into the tune as the instruments he puts down continue to play. It is a charming and amusing introduction to the storytelling and Darren Clark's original music gently underscores much of the show along with Hardy's sound effects.
