Paper Balloon's ONCE UPON A SNOWFLAKE to Land at Chelsea Theatre

This Christmas, following a highly acclaimed UK and Russian tour and a sold-out run at Pegasus Theatre, Paper Balloon's Once Upon a Snowflake will be coming to Chelsea Theatre (7 World's End Place, King's Road, London SW10 0DR), running Thursday 30th November - Friday 22nd December. Opening will be Friday 1st December, 2pm.

Using a captivating blend of shadow puppetry, storytelling and enchanting original songs from Darren Clark (The Scarecrow's Wedding), this funny, quirky and different show follows the journey of missing Liza and the Winter Sprites.

Evoking a unique Anglo-Russian aesthetic and spritely mayhem, audiences will get the chance to get involved in the story and help Liza on her quest - helping to choose how her adventure will end!

It's winter and Liza has disappeared. No-one knows where she can be but one thing's clear, those mysterious Winter Sprites have something to do with it. Every winter, these tiny elf-like creatures can be found hiding in pockets, shoes and sock drawers, watching everything and hearing everyone.

Follow Liza into a colourful whirlwind of stories and adventure, led by a tiny Sprite with a fascination for snowflakes. But how are they connected with Liza's disappearance? Can they help to find her? And what is inside the mysterious Winter Sprite's strange suitcase?

Once Upon a Snowflake has been developed in collaboration with award-winning Russian Theatre Director Maria Litvinova (Theatre Trikster).

Artistic Associate of Chelsea Theatre, Bertie Taylor-Smith, comments, At the Chelsea Theatre our Christmas show is the highlight and the most anticipated show of the year. This year we have taken it up a notch with Once Upon a Snowflake, with its quirky and unique folklore feel and shadow puppetry, it is the perfect winter outing for the whole family. We cannot wait to share this weird and wonderful show with you all.

IF YOU GO:

Once Upon a SNOWFLAKE

Devised by Paper Balloon

Director Maria Litvinova
Musician/composer/lyricist Darren Clark
Movement Director Karl Sullivan
Designer Nomi Everall
Costumes Olga and Elena Bekritskaya

Cast: Dorie Kinnear, Joseph Hardy and Alex Kanefsky

Thursday 30th November - Friday 22nd December:
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10am & 2pm
Wednesday, 2.30pm
Saturday and Sunday, 2.30pm & 5.30pm
Additional 10am performance on 20th December

At Chelsea Theatre, 7 World's End Place, King's Road, London SW10 0DR
The nearest underground stations are Sloane Square and Earl's Court. The nearest rail station is Imperial Warf.

Box Office Tickets are available priced £12 (£10 Concessions, £9 Children under 12). Available from Chelsea Theatre Box Office and www.chelseatheatre.org.uk or 020 7352 1967.

Running time: 70 minutes
Age Guidance: Ages 3+

Paper Balloon tell Big Stories for Small People: creating high-quality accessible live performance and educational works for young people and their families.

Led by artistic director Alex Kanefsky, the company explore original stories through a devising process that has a strong tradition of live music, puppetry, storytelling and physical theatre. Paper Balloon productions include The Grumpiest Boy in the World, Once Upon a Snowflake and The Boy and the Mermaid.

Since 2012 Paper Balloon have toured to theatres across the South East, the UK and Moscow, making work with artists from around the world including the USA, Russia, New Zealand and Australia.

The company has received public funding from Arts Council England and has been supported by Pegasus Theatre, Half Moon Theatre, Folkestone Quarterhouse, Discover Children's Story Centre, and The Artworks Elephant.

Chelsea Theatre is a contemporary performance space and community hub which combines artistic excellence and community participation. As a performance space, they are dedicated to commissioning, producing and presenting the freshest and most innovative artists, both nationally and internationally and they are proud to have hosted some of the biggest names in contemporary performance.

Chelsea Theatre is fully accessible and carers go free to any performance. Additionally they have a variety of concessional rates for World's End Estate residents.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Lighting Design - Top 3

1. Jen Schriever, Michael Arden - The Lost Boys

30.5% of votes

2. Kevin Adams - Chess

15.4% of votes

3. Jack Knowles - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

7.5% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats