CELEBRATING two decades on the stage, the live version of Raymond Briggs' much-loved children's classic The Snowman flies into Mayflower Theatre in January.

Sparkling with charm and wit, The Snowman tells the magical story of a young boy’s adventures when his snowman comes miraculously to life on Christmas Eve. Glittering snowmen are joined onstage by an array of colourful characters including dancing penguins, magical reindeer, a beautiful snow princess and her abominable beau Jack Frost and of course, Father Christmas himself.

The Snowman first appeared as a beautifully illustrated picture book by Raymond Briggs in 1978. It subsequently inspired the classic Oscar nominated, BAFTA award-winning animated film featuring Howard Blake’s wonderful score, first transmitted by Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 30 years ago. The film’s signature song Walking in the Air reached number 3 in the UK charts when sung by choirboy Aled Jones in 1985, and the song was voted number 2 in a poll conducted by Classic FM to find out children’s favourite pieces of classical music, beating Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy amongst others.

Since its premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1993 the live stage show of The Snowman has been seen by over 1 million people worldwide and has thrilled audiences at the Peacock Theatre, London for a record-breaking 18 years. The show has been seen in Korea, Japan, Holland and Finland and in 2010 a performance of the stage show was filmed in the auditorium of Birmingham Repertory Theatre - the show's birthplace - with a live audience, 14 cameras and a superb narration by Joanna Lumley. It is now on major DVD release in the UK.

The Snowman runs from January 13 to 17 with a special relaxed performance on January 16.

Tickets: 023 8071 1811 or visit mayflower.org.uk