Breaking the Ice review – a frisky Arctic adventure for children

Unicorn theatre, London
A polar bear and a husky strike up a friendship in a show that captivates the audience with digital projections, fun costumes and warm performances

Breaking the Ice: it's the perfect title for a show at the Unicorn, where children are so visibly at ease with their surroundings and where the productions usually connect so directly with audiences. It's also a pleasingly rich title for Filskit theatre company's show for children aged two to five. For the younger ones - including my daughter Hildy, who is very nearly two - this is the story of an amiable encounter between a polar bear and a husky. For the older kids, there's an environmental message about climate change and what will happen if all that Arctic ice continues to melt.

Before it all begins, there's time for a quick tumble in the Unicorn foyer's colourful play area. Then we head into the theatre and settle down on cushions before a sort of glacier-shaped playing space. And immediately there's that gold-dust sound for the opening minutes of children's productions: a hush of wonder broken only by inquisitive whispering. Who can we see silhouetted in the tent at the stage's edge? And why are there all of these animal pictures pegged to the guy ropes?