WILSDEN will this month play host to one of the country’s leading children’s theatre companies.

Tutti Frutti will perform The Snow Queen, the fairytale that provided the inspiration for Disney’s worldwide hit Frozen

The company teamed up with York Theatre Royal for the show, and following performances in the city it is going on the road for the autumn.

The hour-long presentation, on October 20 at 5pm in Wilsden Village Hall, is aimed at children aged three and above.

The Snow Queen, originally written by fairytale legend Hans Christian Andersen, tells of Kai and Gerda who have been friends for as long as they could remember.

One day, in a whirl of magic and deception, Kai is pulled under the spell of the powerful Snow Queen of ice and coldness.

The action follows Gerda’s quest to save her friend and return life to normal. Her winter journey is about loyalty, loss and love and the dangers of the unknown.

This latest adaptation of The Snow Queen comes from Mike Kenny, one of the country’s leading playwrights for children.

Mike said: “Hans Christian Andersen was probably the first proper genius storyteller for children. It’s 200 years since he was writing but we still tell The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea and The Emperor’s New Clothes. They have entered the culture.

“I have worked with Tutti Frutti on a lot of plays over the years but maybe nothing quite this epic. At the heart of the story is a friendship.

“There’s something very moving about the boy who is so hurt that he closes off his feelings, and the girl who sets out to find him and through sheer force of will, melts that frozen heart. They both grow in the process.”

Director Wendy Harris described The Snow Queen as the perfect story to tell for an autumn and winter tour.

She said: “The story goes through the seasons so we enjoy summer roses and the icy snow queen’s palace.

“With two central protagonists as children, both girls and boys get something from the story because although it’s called Snow Queen, it’s really about Kai and Gerda and their friendship. It’s lovely for the girl to be the one who rescues the boy – for a change!”

Composer Ivan Stott, who worked with Tutti Frutti on Underneath a Magic Moon, returns to the company to create memorable music and songs for Snow Queen.

In the cast are Joanne Sandi, Hannah Victoria and Mitchel Wolfe, all three making their debuts with tutti frutti.

Joanne (Queen, Robber Girl, Elsie) trained as a dancer at the North London Dance School and began her career as a backing dancer on MTV Base and T4.

She danced in various shows as appeared as a dancer in the movie Mamma Mia. Stage work at Stratford East Theatre Royal includes Da Boyz, Mad Blud, Home Theatre and last year she played the title role in the pantomime Rapunzel.

Joanne appeared in an advert alongside Tina Turner and then played in Soul Sister, a musical based on Tina’s life story, in the West End and on tour.

Hannah (Gerda) has recently studied at Edge Hill University graduating with a BA Hons in Musical Theatre. She has been singing, acting and dancing from a young age and roles she has played include Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act and Crystal Gordon in Bad Girls: The Musical.

Mitchel (Kai, Robber Woman, Reindeer) is making his professional debut in Snow Queen.

He recently graduated with a BA (Hons) in Acting from ALRA North and also trained in Musical Theatre at Jill Clewes Academy for Theatre Arts. Productions while training included The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Iphigenia.

The Snow Queen is an original fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1844, centring on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by children Gerda and Kai.

One of Andersen’s longest and most popular stories it is regularly included in selected tales and collections of his work and is frequently reprinted in illustrated storybook editions for children.

Andersen is said to have based the icy-hearted Snow Queen on Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, who rejected him after he fell in love with her.

Tutti Frutti was founded in 1991 and aims its work at children aged three and above. It has created many small theatre productions first in Huddersfield then in its present base of Leeds.

Through extensive touring the company now gives about 200 performances a year reaching around 20,000 children.

The British Theatre Guide described the company as ideal for families looking for a magical and thought-provoking early experience of the wonder and power of theatre.

The Guardian wrote: “Leeds-based Tutti Frutti has a reputation as one of the most inspired ensembles specialising in work for very young children.”

Mike Kenny was included in the Independent on Sunday’s list of Top Ten Living Playwrights and his plays are performed regularly throughout the UK and across the world.

His Olivier Award-winning adaptation of The Railway Children for York Theatre Royal, has had several successful revivals at Waterloo and Kings Cross stations, as well as at the National Railway Museum.

Kenny won the People’s Choice Award for Best Play for Younger Audiences in Canada with Three Wise Monkeys, and the DeutscherKindertheaterpreis in 2012 with Electric Darkness.

In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Nottingham for his work in theatre for young people

Wendy Harris has been Artistic Director of Tutti Frutti since 2005 and directed all but one production in partnership with York Theatre Royal.

She has toured nationally and internationally, and co-produced the Little Feet Festival of Children’s Theatre and the First Words writers’ development progamme.

Before working with Tutti Frutti, Wendy was Artistic Director of Red Ladder Theatre Company.

• The Snow Queen will be at Wilsden Village Hall on October 20 at 5pm. Tickets are available from Wilsden Community Post Office or by calling 01535 272786.