SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW Celebrates 30 Years and Visits Brighton in December

An international company of multi-cultural fools from Italy, France, Ireland, Ukraine, Spain, USA, and Canada will come to Brighton this Christmas, as Slava’s SnowShow, the multi award-winning global phenomenon that recently celebrated 30 years enchanting people of all ages worldwide, returns to the UK after a seven-year hiatus.

The show previously played Theatre Royal Brighton in 2006 and 2007 and will return this year from Wed 11 – Sun 15 December 2024. It will then enjoy a West End Christmas season at the Harold Pinter Theatre from Wednesday 18 December – 12 January 2025. 

Since its UK debut in 1996 at the Edinburgh Festival, Slava's SnowShow has captivated audiences across the country with its enchanting blend of theatrical artistry and magical whimsy. The show has enjoyed nearly 100 weeks of performances and played to an estimated 1 million spectators in the UK, with over 800 performances across numerous cities, including notable stints at London’s Peacock Theatre, The Old Vic, and Piccadilly Theatre.

From 2011 to 2018, Slava's SnowShow became a festive tradition at London’s Royal Festival Hall, being one of the best-selling Christmas shows for seven consecutive years.

Extensive tours between 2006 and 2017 brought the show to cities such as Bradford, Wimbledon, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Canterbury, Cardiff, and Birmingham. 

With an estimated audience of over one million spectators nationwide, Slava's Snowshow continues to be a beacon of theatrical brilliance, bringing joy and wonder to audiences of all ages across the UK.

Slava Polunin said, “London has a truly central place in my heart, as the city where I truly launched my international career, when I first brought SnowShow back in the mid-90s. Britain is where I find the greatest tradition of theatre, pantomime and clowning - the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Monty Python were inspirational for me – it feels like coming home.

SnowShow has been travelling the world every day for over 30 years, but it has been seven long years since we last brought it to the UK. We will be visiting Sunderland for the first time, and coming back to the delightful Theatre Royal in Brighton. We have played London many times, but it will be a first for us at the prestigious Harold Pinter Theatre, a stage filled with such history and magic. 

Clowning is much more than laughter—it's about seeing life from a poetic perspective, finding joy and emotions in the simple, the absurd, and the unexpected. The UK has always embraced our poetic universe, and I can’t wait to see how a new audience reacts and look forward to welcoming back familiar faces who saw SnowShow many years ago.”

Slava’s SnowShow, a visual and musical extravaganza, offers a dream-like vision that overflows with theatrical magic and humorous antics. The production is set within an absurd and surrealistic world of ‘fools on the loose’, a work of art in which each scene paints a picture: an unlikely shark swimming in a misty sea; clowns and the audience tangled up in a gigantic spider’s web; heart-breaking goodbyes with a coat rack on a railway platform; audience members hypnotized by giant balloons; and an out-of-this-world snowstorm that’s sure to leave audiences spellbound. 

Slava’s SnowShow is the recipient of more than 20 international awards, including an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award nomination. In addition to unanimous public acclaim, the production is a darling with critics who have declared it “a thing of rare theatrical beauty not to be missed” (Daily Telegraph) and confessed, “my heart leapt… [SnowShow] induces waves of giggles and sighs of pleasure.” (New York Times). 

Born in a small town in central Russia, Slava Polunin discovered the art of pantomime in high school. As he grew to adulthood in Leningrad, he developed an eccentric version of the form, which he lovingly dubbed ‘Expressive Idiotism.’ From 1979 on, Slava quickly became a fixture on Russian stages and TV, sharing his gifts and continuing to redefine the art of clowning with his poetic and poignant approach to comic performance. This discovery would reach its zenith with Slava’s SnowShow, which debuted in Moscow in 1993, and then burst onto world stages at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival to universal praise and wonder. 

Since its debut, the work has travelled all over the world, playing to an estimated 14 million people worldwide, with more than 12,000 performances in over 225 cities and 40 counties.

To post a comment, you must register and login.