As my grandson and I headed out to the Grand Opera House to see the multi award-winning international sensation Slava’s Snow Show, it started to snow, adding a wonderfully festive touch to our evening – marketing must have had a word with Mother Nature!

The publicity hails the show as “the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that will fully immerse you into the festive season” – this is no idle boast – a world of wonder awaits!

Created and staged by Slava Polunin, who also directed and designed the costumes and special effects and sound (along with Roman Dubinnikov), he tells us in the programme that, “One day I realised that I wanted to create a show that would take us back to our childhood dreams. A show that would help the people who have come to the theatre release from the goal of adulthood the little boys and girls they once were…” Luckily spectators from all over the world, from dozens of countries, have been able to see Slava’s “beloved child” come wonderfully to life. How fortunate for us in York that the company chose to come here as part of their tour this year.

We met Asissai, the pensive and hesitant yellow clown, who became outnumbered by mischievous green clowns with oversized feet and floppy hats, and then the clowning began in earnest. These were clowns who were masters of their art, and they soon captured our hearts in each entirely different scene. 

It was a joy to hear my grandson giggling uncontrollably at Asissai’s many antics with the green clowns, with his particularly favourite scene being Asissai and the Tilted Table – so simple, so effective, so funny!

Then you had amazing, visually stunning scenes, such as the Sailing Boat Scene, which included encounters with a huge ship and shark-infested waters, with each scene in the show having an accompanying soundtrack to complement the action on stage, as well as stunning lighting which changed the mood of the scene dramatically. One minute you were laughing, then the next moment you moved to tears.

The show's duration of 1 hour 40 minutes was ideal for a young audience, especially those attending on a school night. Encouraged by the clowns (whose physical comedy and expressions were superb), I, along with many other adults, found my inner child, particularly in the phenomenal finale where I played happily alongside my grandson, all of us caught up in the joyous moment.

Look out for some fabulous immersive experiences (no spoilers), but I would recommend booking seats in the stalls unless you’d prefer to look down at the mirth and mayhem without being involved.

What a brrr-illiant tonic this spectacular SnowShow was, one full of delightful surprises and joy.

Slava’s SnowShow Age 8+ years, Grand Opera House, York
until Sunday 23rd November 2025

Read Graham Clark's interview In Conversation With Vanya Polunin Ahead Of Slava’s Snow Show Coming To Yorkshire