Christmas cheers

There are screams of delight as a snow machine sends flakes floating down into the auditorium where hundreds of small children have just had their first experience of theatre. In the future they will hopefully be equally thrilled by performances of Hamlet or Uncle Vanya - but for now their hero has stirred up their enthusiasm by dancing a rumba with oversized tropical fruit, trying on false teeth, and swapping his own nose for a very fetching bunch of grapes.

Bill Alexander's masterful production of The Snowman - now in its fifth year and a seasonal fixture - is a prime example of a simple formula working well. On one level it is a story of a snowman coming to life and befriending a small boy, but on another, Raymond Briggs's character cleverly apes the fascinations of a child who still finds magic in the flicking on-and-off of a light switch, the world that lies behind a refrigerator door and the hidden potential of a favourite teddy bear.

As the show opens and the lights go down, all you can see in the dark is the glow of the fibreoptic torches that are on sale in the foyer for hyperactive young imaginations. On stage a small boy (played on alternate performances by Louis Dunford, Alexander Rose and Thomas Runeckles) is asleep, and soon the children's laughter is ringing out as he struggles out of bed, runs into the garden and becomes covered with snow, and struggles to build a snowman twice his height.

From the adult perspective, Robert North's elegant choreography brings the requisite dash of style to this story of domestic miracles. Johanna Williams's darting black cat, Nicholas Bower's refreshingly sinister Jack Frost, and Anna Martinkevitch's cutglass graceful Princess are among those who whisk this fantasy towards the disciplined beauty of classical ballet. But for the children, there are far greater excitements in store.

Most seemed familiar with the plot sequence from the book and video of The Snowman, yet according to the little girl behind me, television did not compare with the thrill of watching a real, live boy on the stage in front of her taking the hand of his mischievous frozen companion and soaring into the air.

For her mother, the price of tickets was an issue - the best seats are £35 for adults and £22 for children, bringing their own family's trip to just under £100. Yet the packed, excited response indicated that this Rolls-Royce of young children's entertainment will have few problems keeping the engine going for several years yet.
Until 12 January. Box office: 020 7863 8222.

The Snowman