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[Herald Review] 'Slava's Snowshow' brings delightful snowy magic to stage

By Hwang Dong-hee

Published : May 14, 2023 - 18:51

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"Slava's Snowshow" (LG Arts Center)

Entering the concert hall, the audience was immediately captivated by the sight of white confetti scattered and piled on the floor.

“Slava’s Snowshow” running at the LG Arts Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul until May 21, has transformed a corner of Magok-dong in the middle of May.

The mime show created and staged by Russian performance artist and clown Slava Polunin has toured over 100 cities around the world since its premiere in Russia in 1993.

In Korea, the Russian troupe last performed the piece in 2015.

The 100-minute show, including a 15-minute intermission, is led by a clown dressed in yellow and his seven cohorts, shabbily dressed in green. They invite the audience into what feels like a silent movie or stop-motion animation, staging a series of short episodes with classic props such as balloons and bubbles.

"Slava's Snowshow" (LG Arts Center)

As the gigantic spider’s web falls over the audience, everyone -- including the gray-haired grandfather and his grandson seated in the row in front of this reporter -- raised their hands to brush off the web.

Children giggled and screamed when the clowns moseyed around the stage, fighting and tricking each other in a slapstick comedy. Bubbles from the stage blowing toward the audience seats had the children reaching out their arms instinctively, trying to capture them.

The spectacle of imagination and fairy tale took those of the older generation back to their childhood as well. The show had a melancholy mood with nostalgic music and a gray winter background.

Beware of the clowns’ attack -- they jumped into the audience seats, spraying water and having a snowball fight with the confetti snowflakes -- even during the intermission.

"Slava's Snowshow" (LG Arts Center)

The highlight of the show is undoubtedly the finale. The paper snowflakes that blew from time to time on the stage transformed into a blizzard of epic proportions at the show's ending. It was not just snowfall, but a blizzard of endless paper snowflakes blowing at the audience at full speed.

The show continued after the performance was over, with the clowns throwing huge balloons into the audience.

After its Seoul run, “Slava’s Snowshow” will continue in Suseong Artpia in Daegu from May 24-27 and at Hyundai Arts Center in Ulsan from May 31 to June 3.