What happens in The Snowman?
A young boy builds a snowman in his garden on Christmas Eve. When midnight strikes, the snowman comes to life. The boy invites him into the house; the two of them spend the night exploring, dancing and discovering. As dawn approaches, the snowman takes the boy by the hand and they take off into the sky together.
Act I — The night the snowman wakes
The first half is a series of gentle domestic vignettes. The Snowman is amazed by everything: the lights on the Christmas tree, the family's pet, the kitchen appliances, the boy's father's clothes (which he tries on with comic results). The score is light and the choreography is observational rather than dramatic — the production lets the audience watch through the eyes of the Snowman experiencing the human world for the first time.
Act II — Flying north
After the interval, the second act opens with the famous flying sequence: the boy and the snowman take to the air, soaring over snow-covered countryside, towns, the coast, and finally the polar night. "Walking in the Air" is sung live during the sequence. The pair arrive at the North Pole and join a gathering of snowmen from around the world, where they meet Father Christmas. After dancing through the night, the boy is returned home. He wakes the next morning to find the snowman has melted away.
Why the wordlessness works
Briggs' original book contained no dialogue at all. The stage adaptation has been disciplined about keeping it that way for nearly three decades. The result is that pre-school children with no patience for plot can follow the show as easily as adults; the storytelling lives in the visuals, the choreography, and the score. For families with very young children, this is part of the show's enduring appeal.
How The Snowman became a London Christmas institution
The book and the film
Raymond Briggs' picture book The Snowman was first published in 1978. Briggs was already an established illustrator (Father Christmas, Fungus the Bogeyman), but The Snowman established him internationally. The 1982 Channel 4 animated adaptation, directed by Dianne Jackson with music by Howard Blake and the boy-soprano vocal "Walking in the Air" by Peter Auty (often misattributed to Aled Jones), became one of British television's most-watched Christmas broadcasts and has aired every Christmas since.
From Birmingham Rep to the Peacock
Birmingham Repertory Theatre first staged The Snowman in 1993, directed by Bill Alexander and choreographed by Robert North. The production was a hit and toured extensively. In 1997, it transferred to the Peacock Theatre (Sadler's Wells' West End venue, near Holborn) for what was originally intended as a one-off Christmas season. The reception was so strong that Sadler's Wells brought it back the following year. It has returned every year since.
The 25th anniversary tribute
For its 25th year at the Peacock in 2022, the season was dedicated to the memory of Raymond Briggs, who died in August 2022 aged 88. The show's longevity made it one of the most significant ongoing memorials to Briggs' work in any medium.
Will Tuckett's 2026 reimagining
In February 2026, Sadler's Wells announced that for Christmas 2026 a brand-new production would replace the long-running Birmingham Rep staging. Choreographer-director Will Tuckett — known for narrative ballets including Pinocchio (Royal Opera House) and The Wind in the Willows (Royal Ballet) — leads the new creative team. Olivier Award-winner Anna Fleischle (Hangmen, 2:22 A Ghost Story, Boys from the Blackstuff) is designing. Sadler's Wells Artistic Director Sir Alistair Spalding has described the new staging as a "continuation of the legacy" rather than a replacement — Howard Blake's score, the flying sequence and "Walking in the Air" all remain.
The continuing CBBC documentary
CBBC's documentary My Life: The Snowman and Me, which followed two young boys cast to play The Boy in the 2024/25 production, remains available on BBC iPlayer. The film provided audiences with an unusual glimpse into how the boy lead is double-cast and rehearsed each year.
