‘Slava's Snowshow' delights Riyadh audience
RIYADH: 'Slava's Snowshow' opened in Riyadh on Thursday before an audience of 200 people, mostly families with children, at the Baker Al-Shedi Theater.
The event, organized by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, is part of the commission's efforts to enhance the city's cultural scene in line with Vision 2030's Quality of Life Program.
'Slava's Snowshow runs' from May 15 to 24, presenting 13 performances. Double-show weekends have been added to accommodate increasing demand.
The performance featured snowstorm effects, unique characters, and striking visuals in a non-verbal show that appealed to all ages.
Created by Russian artist Slava Polunin, 'Slava's Snowshow' has been seen by more than 12 million people in more than 30 countries, from Broadway in New York to the West End in London.
Architect Khalid Alhazani, vice president of the Riyadh Life Sector at the RCRC, said: 'We are pleased to bring 'Slava's Snowshow' to Riyadh as part of our commitment to introducing world-class cultural experiences to the Kingdom. Hosting internationally acclaimed performances creates valuable cultural moments for the community.
'This is a significant step toward Riyadh's goal of becoming a vibrant and creative capital, aligned with the ambitions of Vision 2030,' he added.
Abdulaziz Awlia, a faculty member at the Department of Performing Arts, King Saud University, told Arab News: 'Bringing 'Slava's Snowshow' to Riyadh reflects a growing cultural awareness in Saudi Arabia and highlights the shift in the Kingdom's theatre scene toward international openness.
'The show introduces local audiences to new theatrical forms that go beyond dialogue and traditional storytelling. It uses visual language, movement, and silence to engage the audience emotionally. This is especially effective in a society with a strong oral heritage,' Awlia added.
'Performances like this can encourage Saudi theatre to grow by embracing experimentation and focusing on visual and poetic elements,' Awliya said.
'Slava's Snowshow' has received more than 25 international awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and a Tony Award nomination on Broadway. The production combines visual performance and physical comedy to take audiences through a theatrical experience rooted in imagination and nostalgia. It appeals to audiences of all ages with its focus on creativity and childlike wonder.
Since its debut in 1993, the show has been performed thousands of times in hundreds of cities and dozens of countries.
The production, which blends visual performance with elements of tragicomedy, has carved out a unique place in contemporary theatre. It has received numerous international honors, with recognition stretching from London and New York to Australia, Mexico, Paris, and Moscow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
‘The Man Who Would Be King' author: Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's transformation
In this special interview on Global News Today, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Wall Street Journal editor Karen Elliott House joins us to discuss her new book, The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia. Karen shares her impressions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, describing him as visionary, driven, and detail-oriented. She discusses his impact on Saudi society, his relationship with the youth, and his ambitions to position the Kingdom among the world's top economies. From reform to foreign strategy, this conversation offers rare insight into one of the most influential leaders in the Middle East today.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Where We Are Going Today: Past Nine cafe
Nestled in the Al-Nahdha district of Jeddah, Past Nine cafe has quickly become a local favorite, combining great food, excellent coffee and a vibrant but easygoing atmosphere. One of the standout features of Past Nine is its diverse menu. The hibiscus juice is refreshingly tangy and perfect for a hot day, while the waffles are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I had a V60 coffee and a Matilda cake, which was a delightful combination. While the laid-back vibe — including lots of comfy couches — is ideal for those working remotely, the cafe also hosts regular performances by local bands, enhancing its appeal as a social hub. There are also board game nights featuring established favorites like Jenga and Monopoly, while those who like their fun a little more high-tech can take advantage of the PS5 consoles. Upstairs is a dedicated area for smokers. Past Nine cafe is highly recommended for its cozy vibe, delicious coffee and engaging events. It also offers discounts for occasions like Founding Day and National Day. If you're looking for a place to relax, work or enjoy some live music, this place is definitely worth a visit.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Othman discusses work exploring linguistic architectural landscapes
DUBAI: In the Bawwaba section of the most recent edition of Art Dubai, Saudi artist Abdullah Al-Othman's installation 'Manifesto: Language & the City II' presented photographs and numerous illuminated signs and symbols in Arabic against two black walls, reflecting the urban signage one may find in Riyadh. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The installation was an evolution of a series that includes 2021's 'Manifesto: the Language and the City,' a multimedia installation exploring the linguistic and architectural landscape of Riyadh for the inaugural Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, which went on to be included in the Lyon Biennale in 2022, and 'Fantasy Land,' which Al-Othman created for the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival in 2021 — a neon wall installation exploring themes of human experience and the shifts between reality and illusion. 'Language & the City II' pulsed with light and color and the expressive characters of the Arabic language made the viewer feel as if they were indeed on a bustling street in the Saudi capital. 'Language is akin to history — it's very deep,' Al-Othman tells Arab News. 'Through my research I realized how language is like a brand for a culture — it references history and people. I study the language that we find in cities. The documentation of language affects the architectural style in an urban environment and the relationship between people and their environment.' 'Language & the City II' was made from a variety of materials, predominantly neon signage, lightboxes and wooden advertising signs that were once hung in the streets of Riyadh. Al-Othman's installation brought them together to create a portrait of the city through its typographic, visual and architectural styles. Riyadh's identity, explains Al-Othman, is revealed through the language, style and vibrant colors of these lit symbols, offering a collective memory of a city in the throes of change. As an artist and a poet, language has always played an important role in Al-Othman's life. While he began as a writer, he arrived at a point where he could no longer fully express himself with words and turned to art, creating works that incorporate sound, found objects, sculpture, film and performance. In 2017's 'Suspended Al-Balad,' for the 21,39, contemporary art festival, Al-Othman wrapped an entire building in Jeddah's historic Al-Balad district, originally used as a shelter for widows and divorced women, with tin foil. Al Othman's intuitive approach to art creation leads him to organically move between and incorporate different mediums. Light is a significant element in his work, whether bouncing off tin foil or shining in neon to reflect the everyday urban environment of Riyadh. 'I want to create journeys for people to discover the importance of language,' says Al-Othman. 'Language is a deeply important part of being human.' Today Al-Othman continues to expand his research and art creation. He has recently published a book on his research supported by The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and the Saudi Cultural Development Fund. Presently he is creating sculptures out of various Arabic words from made from different materials for his latest project, 'Engineering the Incomplete.' 'In my artistic practice, I engage with language as an open field for analysis and reconstruction,' he writes in his statement for the new project. 'I begin from moments of absence — from missing letters and fractured words — treating them as signals of the fragility inherent in the symbolic systems we rely on to make sense of the world. 'Failure to achieve perfection becomes an essential part of creation, not a flaw to be corrected,' he continues. 'Incompleteness is not simply a void, but an active component that generates new, open-ended meanings. Each missing letter, each visual gap, forms an alternative path of reading and invites the viewer to reshape their relationship with language and the urban environment.' 'Engineering the Incomplete' uses the structure of the letter as an entity capable of both disintegration and destruction and therefore the resulting text as something that is unstable and constantly changing. 'My practice transforms language from a tool of communication into a material and temporal organism caught in the tension between structure and collapse,' Al-Othman adds. 'Through material techniques that draw from urban elements and the reconfiguration of textual spaces, my work seeks to highlight the continuous tension between the desire for expression and the inherent limits of linguistic possibilities.' Al-Othman says that 'Engineering the Incomplete' is not an attempt to restore what is lost, but an invitation to read absence, or lacking, as another form of presence and a new beginning. Incompleteness, he emphasizes, offers 'a way to produce new meaning and vision.'
