Cambrian Players to Perform The Snow Queen
Story by Sidney Ulakovic, Photos by Matthew Goertz
“It’s a nostalgic, warm, cosy storytime for when you’re in the dark parts of winter,” says director Jessica Graham of Cambrian Player’s upcoming production of The Snow Queen. Cambrian’s 74th season will resume this March as they revisit The Snow Queen with an adaptation written by Charles Way. Graham, whose background lies mostly in filmmaking, will make her directorial debut with Cambrian Players with this production.
“Instead of the main characters being children like in a lot of adaptations, this really focuses on teenagers kind of finding their way into early adulthood,” says Graham, of what drew her to the adaptation. “It just felt like a more fun area to kind of play around with. It’s got a lot of funny moments and wit—it’s comedic as well as epic.” The production will also welcome actor Danielle Winters, who brings her wealth of previous theatre experience to the Cambrian stage for the first time as the play’s protagonist, Gerta. “Gerta struggles a bit with trying to grow up too quickly,” Winters says. “A lot of the story is realizing that, yes, she can become an adult but also hold on to the parts of her childhood that truly make her who she is.”
(L-R) Ariana McLean, Danielle Winters, Austin Campbell, and Ben Albert
Graham says the play deals predominantly with winter motifs, being The Snow Queen and all, but the story weaves through all the seasons. “It’s more like a wintery Wizard of Oz,” Graham says. While this production is not aimed specifically at children, Graham says that it’s certainly a family show, with something for audience members of any age to enjoy.
(L-R) Teoman Amishev, Ginette Roy, and Cara O’Brien
“The fun of the play so far is coming from [the cast] trying to make each other laugh, and it’s creating this awesome, magical moment,” Graham says. Aside from showcasing the cast’s chemistry when showtime rolls around, Graham is also hoping to capture some magic with the production’s set design. According to Graham, Cambrian performed The Snow Queen once before in 1980, with the set drawings for that production being done by the late Marianne Wahl, a lifetime member of Cambrian Players. The overall aesthetics of the upcoming production will be inspired by Wahl’s designs. Graham and the cast look forward to paying homage to Wahl’s contributions to local theatre with these performances of The Snow Queen.
The Snow Queen will open on March 6 and run until March 9, returning after a quick break to show once more from March 13 to March 16. Tickets are available to purchase online at cambrianplayers.eventbrite.ca.
