THE Snow Tiger has returned home.

Sherman Cymru’s touringWelsh and English children’s show, The Snow Tiger/Teigr Yr Eira began its tour in Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre before visiting several venues around SouthWales during November and has now returned to the Sherman where it will perform until January 5.

Based on a traditional Scandinavian story, Sherman Cymru commissioned Abergavenny-based children’s theatre writer, Philip Michell to create this enchanting tale aimed at boys and girls aged three to six.

Philip has been writing and performing plays for over 25 years and says: “I feel very privileged working for young people, I think what I enjoy most about it is letting ones’ imaginations run riot, as you become a child again yourself and send your imagination on adventures. Hopefully younger children will enjoy these adventures as well.”

The Snow Tiger/Teigr yr Eira is centered around a little boy, Usko who loves to hear stories…especially the one about the snowtiger. He loves going off exploring too when nobody’s looking.

Sneaking off one day, he gets lost and finds himself on a journey into the snowy forest to help save the snow tiger fromthe hands of Baba Yaga.

Philip goes to great pains to inform me about the cultural history of the Baba Yaga – a witch character whose story and origins are fromScandinavia and runs across many world cultures and is not portrayed like a traditional witch.

The Snow Tiger also focuses on important learning skills for children: “It’s very much about Usko’s loneliness and the importance of making friends and sharing experiences” says Philip.

“It’s also about the imagination and storytelling his mother indulges in, bringing to life newtales and new folklore in fairy tales such as The Snow Tiger story.”

Despite most children’s tales, The Snow Tiger also pushes the boundaries of children’s theatre experiences by being performed in Welsh as well as English, the Welsh version translated by Branwen Davies. “I think the company has been pleased with the translation, it’s been very successful,” says Phillip.

Phillip, whose other work has included the recent Whispers on theWaves performed, as part of Hijinx of Odyssey at theWales Millennium Centre, has nothing but high praise for the finished production.

“They are a lovely cast, they’ve worked really hard indeed and the director Mared Swain has worked very passionately on the piece. The design is lovely by Rachel Canning its very colourful with a lot of atmosphere.”

  • Snow Tiger/Teigr yr Eira continues at Sherman Cymru, Cardiff until January 5. Call 029 2064 6900 or visit shermancymru.co.uk