"The Snow Queen" at OTLiA is a universal and multi-layered fairy tale that explores themes of transience, coming of age, and aging through the lens of shared, intergenerational experiences. It tells a story of boundless forgiveness, love, and the fundamental need for human connection. The performance aims to encourage its audience to critically reflect on the existence of evil in our everyday lives.

Gerda embarks on a journey to find her beloved friend, Kai, who has gone missing. Her path leads her to the Snow Queen’s palace, and along the way, she meets people who teach her empathy and help her understand the struggles they face. Yet, without realizing it, she spends her entire life searching for Kai.

The Snow Queen’s icy world makes people lonely, and in the vast cold and frost, this feeling becomes even more profound. In Beniamin Bukowski’s adaptation and under the direction of Tomasz Kaczorowski, evil is no longer an abstract concept. It is a force that fills human hearts and minds, emerging from the familiar and everyday rather than supernatural powers, which instead serve as a metaphor. Evil exists within people and between them, in the fast-paced world around us—overflowing with stimuli and overwhelming information.

As the Earth stands on the brink of catastrophe, shattered mirror fragments embed themselves in human hearts, dulling their sensitivity and numbing their senses. The broken mirror reflects the world in a way that makes it seem ugly and cruel. But this distorted reflection primarily exists in our own eyes. So, can we say that whether we are good or evil depends on ourselves and the people we encounter? Are we even ready to truly meet another person? Do we seek closeness, or are we drawn to isolation? These conflicting needs, emphasized in our interpretation, take on even deeper meaning in the context of the isolation we have collectively experienced during the pandemic.

The performance will be partially played with live actors and partially with puppets, set in a symbolic and universal stage design. The dominant elements will include black-and-white walls, a world of monochrome diamonds, frozen trees, melting icicles, and scattered mirror shards—all presented with a strong geometric aesthetic. Puppets, masks, objects, and the environment will feature the distinct "noble wear-and-tear" characteristic of set designer Agnieszka Wielewska, ensuring that the stage world continuously reveals new secrets throughout the performance. This magical fairy-tale realm will be further enriched by the atmospheric and lyrical music of Piotr Klimek.

(source from: http://teatrlalki.opole.pl/spektakl/krolowa-sniegu/)