Written and directed by Ciaran McConville, The Snow Queen is based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen. It will show at the Rose Theatre Kingston from 6 December 2019 – 5 January 2020.
In a long forgotten corner of a city is an orphanage where young Gerda discovers that she is no ordinary teenager, but a Child of Magic, hidden from the reaches of the evil Snow Queen.
She shows her powers to her best friend Kai, and by doing so unwittingly reveals their whereabouts. Kai is lured away, and Gerda must journey to the Frozen North into the Queen’s clutches to save him.
Gerda’s perilous adventure includes an unlikely pirate captain and a talking reindeer, secretive elves and vicious trolls. As the Snow Queen rallies her forces, she must learn the true nature of her magic powers to save Christmas and rescue Kai.
The Artiscape spoke with Davina Moon who plays Freya in the play.
Her theatre credits include The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson, Yellow Face (Park Theatre), The Mirror Crack’d (Salisbury Playhouse), Double Act (Polka Theatre), Yellow Face (National Theatre).
What attracted Moon to the script?
Moon: Knowing that Ciaran McConville and Eamonn O’Dwyer’s names were attached to the project was a big draw for me.
Also I have a lot of respect for the casting directors, Lucy Jenkins and Sooki McShane and knew it was going to be an exciting and high quality production.
Ciaran is such an aware and responsible writer. Each character has their own voice and just the right amount of complexity. Also I wanted to keep reading the play to the end which is always a good sign! This is the best version of The Snow Queen I’ve ever come across. Eamonn’s Music is always so evocative and poignant and he has a knack for creating such joyfully challenging harmonies.
How, as an actor does Moon prepare for this role?
Moon: Freya is a relatively new character to The Snow Queen. She was recently portrayed in The Huntsman as an evil ice queen, sister to the Snow Queen, but in our story she is a warmer, kinder, more maternal character.
Because there is little available about this character in other adaptations, it made it tricky to research. And without giving too much away, I watched episodes from the Snow Queen story line in Once Upon A Time and a few Father Christmas films…!
Can she tell us about the character she plays?
Moon: Freya is the owner of an orphanage, home to just a select few orphans, of which our main protagonist, Gerda, is one.
Freya is extremely protective of the children but is very kind and caring towards them. Their safety of utmost importance to Freya. She’s quite the warrior in more ways than one. She has a bit of a reveal in act two, but that is all I can say..!
What are the challenges in playing this character?
Moon: In the beginning there is an awful lot of subtext with Freya, but it’s soon clear what her motivations and intentions are. It’s been a bumpy ride discovering her and she has certainly kept me on my toes.
She has such intricate relationships with every character and each one has its own subtext. I’ve had to do a lot of fighting against my instincts as it’s not what the character would necessarily do. It took me a good two weeks to fall back in love with her as I took her to quite an angry place, but her journey and destiny are clear to me now and I can’t wait to get her up and running!
What does Moon think the audience will take away this production?
Moon: I think our younger audience members will see quite a few messages from our show. I’m confident that each child will come away with, at the very least, one message.
From the simpler, don’t trust strangers, to the more thought provoking struggle between good and evil or that love triumphs. I ultimately hope that every audience member comes away reminded that love and kindness cost nothing and that we should all support each other and be true to one another and remember that Christmas is a magical time of love and forgiveness.
This Christmas, be enchanted by Hans Christian Andersen’s powerful tale of love, magic and self-realisation. This glittering new adaptation features a wealth of local talent from the Rose Youth Theatre alongside a professional cast.
To book visit https://www.rosetheatrekingston.org/whats-on/the-snow-queen
Credit – Mark Douet 
Credit – Mark Douet 
Credit – Mark Douet 
Credit – Mark Douet
