David Bellan says Snow White's central characters deliver a powerful piece of theatre

Once again the Russian Ice Stars have shown that it’s possible to cram up to 20 dancers on to a relatively tiny stage, and produce a work that is technically exciting, beautiful to watch and dramatically effective.

The story is pretty much as we know it, except that instead of dwarfs we have seven woodcutters. This may be political correctness of some sort, but they are very endearing (three are actually bearded girls) and, at times very funny. When they don top hats and black jackets for a party, balancing bottles on their heads, these bearded woodcutters look just like an item out of Fiddler on the Roof.

But it’s the main characters that give this production its dramatic force. Svetlana Kuprina is the beautiful, jealous Queen. In her crouching dances of fury, full of high speed turns, she emanates an evil malevolence. Beautifully contrasted with her is Valeria Vorobeva as the lovely innocent heroine. The duet in which the encircling Queen tempts Snow White with her poisoned apple is a powerful piece of theatre.

Valdis Mintals is the virile Prince, and in addition to acting very well, gets in some impressive jumps and spins on the tiny ice surface. Most British dance companies could do with a man like that! All the cast have had a lot of ballet training, but one thing skaters can do that dancers cannot, is to float at speed across the ice in a motionless pose, or finish a jump without coming to a stop. Again and again these abilities are used to great effect to create a lyrical, floating feeling.

Also in the cast are the company’s long-serving aerialists Alexander Belokopitov and his wife Ekaterina, bringing a touch of cabaret to the celebrations as they float and twist high over the stage.

This is a highly successful and enjoyable show — except for one thing: what on earth were the producers thinking when they booked minor TV celeb and failed politician Rustie Lee as an onstage narrator? This is a work of some artistry, a skated version of the Grimm Brothers’ much loved tale. It is not a panto. Introducing the well-rounded Lee dressed as a pink fairy to tell us the story is a ludicrous misconception. Her attempts at jocularity with the audience are an embarrassment, and destroy the magical atmosphere that the skaters work so hard to create.

The tale is clearly set in a past century, so why is she pretending to be a radio reporter? After the touching scene in which the Queen’s emissary cannot bring himself to kill Snow White, do we really need the giggling Rustie to tell us what we have just seen? I have nothing against Rustie Lee, but she should not be in this show, which, like all the others from this talented company, has in the past run beautifully without the need for a narrator.

Snow White on Ice
New Theatre, Oxford
Until Sunday
Box office: 0844 871 3020 or atgtickets.com/oxford