With the mercury sinking lower by the day, Katherine MacAlister goes behind the scenes and discovers why things are hotting up down at Pegasus in East Oxford for their festive show

There’s excitement afoot in East Oxford, even if a cold wind is blowing.

Pegasus is introducing its first ever in-house Christmas show – The Snow Queen – and is all ready to take on Oxford’s finest pantos.

The brainchild of Pegasus’s new CEO, Jonathan Lloyd, who is also directing the show, The Snow Queen will demonstrate that Pegasus is back in the game and continuing to make its mark.

“Until now we have always commissioned other theatre companies to put on a Christmas show, but I wanted to take that one step further and take over the reins ourselves, so the proof will be in the Christmas pudding,” he says.

The show is adapted from the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen, when Kai is stolen by the Snow Queen and taken away to her frozen palace in the far, far north, where only his best friend Gerda, in a test of true friendship, can save him.

Knowing Pegasus is up against some serious competition, Jonathan is confident he has the right recipe for the perfect festive offering.

“The key ingredients for a great Christmas show are a cracking story to keep you on the edge of your seats, which is entertaining and funny with a strong emotional pull, and The Snow Queen has it all.”

Being produced in-house means that the entire Snow Queen production, from the props to costumes and sound, are being made on-site, largely by the enormous variety of young people who attend Pegasus’s extensive youth groups.

“Everyone has really got behind it and is working flat out. The theatre is really straining at the seams but we are four weeks into rehearsals now and putting everything into practice.

“So although we are pushing and stretching everyone I think it’s a good thing to see what we can do and what we can pull out of the bag, and it’s all coming together.”

So why The Snow Queen? “For me it’s the classic Christmas show. Its about friendship, a roller-coaster ride of an adventure, a wonderfully light and playful script by Mike Kenny and a big dose of magic.”

The Snow Queen herself however will be absent, suggested only by a swirl of snowflakes and animation projections. “There will be glimpses of her so she’s left purely to the imagination, which I think is much more spooky than an actress in a white cape,” Jonathan explains.

Which is all well and good, but will Pegasus be able to take on the big boys? “It’s a big challenge,” Jonathan admits, “but we want to show what we can do. We want to produce something that people enjoy and get excited about because Pegasus has got its own identity and Oxford has such a diverse audience, there’s enough to go around.”

“We just want people to come and enjoy it, to leave because they are buzzing, to mix it up a bit and for this to be the first of many. But we also want to make it as affordable as possible so all tickets for under-18s cost £6 and that includes our first ever Christmas production.”

SEE IT
The Snow Queen comes to Pegasus in East Oxford  from December 5 to January 4. Call the box office on 01865 812150 or see pegasustheatre.org.uk

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