Andrew Ashton is The Snowman at Sadler’s Wells this Christmas

Birmingham Rep’s The Snowman is currently playing its 27th year in Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre. Such longevity doesn’t happen by accident, but whilst public affection can help put bums on seats, the pressure on each year’s cast to deliver only grows higher.

No one will be more responsible for the success of this year’s festive flight of fancy than the Snowman himself, Yorkshire-born Andrew Ashton. Last seen by theQR on tour with Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, this will be Andrew’s first time in the iconic white suit and scarf.

I was lucky enough to put a few questions to Andrew as he prepared to take to the skies where you will find him soaring throughout December and into January!

Well hello Andrew, why don’t we start at the very beginning, and find out a little about you?

I started dancing when I was about 4 years old because my parents encouraged me and my brother to do as many different things as we could. So I did horse riding, rugby, swimming, scouts, and all of that. My brother continued doing rugby but I very slowly but surely focused just on dance and musical theatre. Still, I was actually going to go to university to study architecture. I got a place at Edinburgh University but in the end, I decided actually that I wanted to go to Lane Theatre Arts instead and focus on dance and musical theatre.

When I graduated, I joined Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, and I toured with Swan Lake, the iconic male version, for 2 years around Japan, China, South Korea, The US and the UK including Sadler’s Wells. I’ve performed with New Adventures on and off since then. I was recently in Edward Scissorhands on the UK tour and I’ve done a lot of film and TV. I was in Netflix’s Bridgerton and Doctor Who.

“I started dancing when I was about 4 years old…”

Turning to The Snowman now – this is an iconic piece of Britain’s creative history, how does it feel to become part of it?

It’s really quite an honour to have the role, especially as it’s a film that I used to love watching as a kid and I used to force my parents to watch it on Christmas Eve. It’s also a really well-respected show in itself in the dance industry so I was really pleased when I got the role.

My family are going to all come down from North Yorkshire and it’s really special because my two-year-old nephew is going to be watching me dance for the first time. So, he’ll see Uncle Andrew dancing, which will be very, very special.

How would you say the show balances the need to respect what came before whilst keeping things fresh?

To be fair, the show is very respectful to the original film. The production was first done 30 years ago and hasn’t changed much in that time. It’s quite an honour to have so many other people do it before you and then you take on that role and you learn from the people who’ve done it before you. So yes it very much honours the original film in its entirety.

And what led you to audition for The Snowman place in the first place?

This is my first time in The Snowman. I’ve auditioned for the show a few times before, but this is my first time doing the Snowman, and it’s very exciting to do it especially as it’s really well-respected show.

I also know the original Ice Princess, Kerry Biggin, as I work with her at New Adventures, so when I got the role, she spoke to me and said that even though it was 30 years ago that she originated the role, she could probably still do the duet if I wanted to practice it with her! So that’s my journey to becoming the snowman.

**Click to enlarge and for image details.**

What does the character mean to you?

Playing the character of The Snowman is really rewarding. For one, dancing with the boys. Three kids play The Boy in The Snowman because they alternate the parts, and it just brings back memories of when I was their age and was dancing and how special it would feel to be them.

I really want to make sure that they have a really fun time and that they really enjoy being on stage and the magic of it…but also it means a lot to the children who watch the show.

I’ve had friends who’ve done the show for many years and they always say that you can be absolutely dying after doing it: we do up to three shows a day and a lot in a week.

You can sometimes be really, really tired and the thing that keeps you going, that keeps you motivated, is hearing children in the audience laughing and reacting to the show and having a really fun time. So that’s what’s really special about my role because there are so many things I do on stage that will make the children laugh!

Would you say being on stage at Christmas is more special, or feels different from other times of year?

Christmas can actually be quite difficult for a lot of performers. Ever since I graduated every single Christmas, I’ve been in a production somewhere in the world, and it always means that I don’t really spend Christmas with my family.

I’ve had Christmas in Los Angeles, in London a lot of times, sometimes I’m able to make it home, but quite often it means that I’ll either be spending it with fellow cast members or just other people that are around.

So it is really magical to be doing a Christmas show and to be showing the Christmas spirit with lots of people, but it is a difficult time for performers, so to combat that we spend a lot of time together, have lot of fun together…we kind of make our own little Christmas traditions. It’s fun to be doing Christmas a couple of months early as well.

Did the 1982 movie figure much in your own childhood and onwards?

I always really enjoyed watching the Snowman at Christmas, I think there’s something about the classic animation, the slow movements of it and the way that it’s been drawn by hand that I really try and represent in the way that I move as the snowman on stage.

Having now come to perform it, I studied it quite a lot before we started rehearsals and the way the snowman moves at a really slow pace. I had to try and mirror that in the movement of my body, even if it’s a big reaction. I sort of move really slowly as if in slow motion. I really enjoy that part of it.

I really enjoy creating that and embodying the film on stage, but I’ve also had friends who have come to see the show every year since they were a child and now I’ve turned to them and said I’m going to be playing this snowman, they’ve gone “no way, I used to go and see that every year when I was a kid!” and they’re going to come back again and watch it after a couple of years of not seeing it, so it’s really special for them and it’s really special for me to have friends come and see the show.

“the thing that keeps you motivated is hearing the sound of children in the audience laughing…”

Let’s end on something a little different Andrews. If a magic snowman appeared outside your front door, would you fly away with them?

I don’t know! I think I would be very scared to begin with, just like the boy in this production when he first sees the Snowman!

But I think it would be really fun to fly off to the North Pole and to meet Santa Claus and to meet all of the other snowmen. It’s a really fun time that we have on stage in the Second Act when we meet all of the different snowmen from all of their different places. #

I feel like it would be a really fun time if I went off to the North Pole and met the penguins, met the snowmen, met Santa, and got a present from Santa! That personally would be really special.

So yes I would like to fly with the Snowman. Actually this is the first time that I’ve ever done a show where I’ve flown on stage, and that’s really fun!

I’d quite like to do it without the harness and actually fly. Now that really would be fun.

Featured Image: Birmingham Rep, The Snowman photo by The Other Richard