Letting it go Tears and tributes as Frozen bids the West End farewell

Sometimes it has been a flurry and at others a blizzard. For three years theatregoers dressed in shades of Elsa blue have descended on Covent Garden for Disney's blockbuster stage musical Frozen.

- Chris Wiegand

But at the weekend, it finally came to an end as the guards opened up the gates of London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane for two final performances.

"There are going to be tears," the actor Samantha Barks admitted before the shows. Barks played Elsa, the princess with icy powers, and was one of many in the cast and crew who had been with the production since 2021. "When I got this job I was in my 20s," she said.

"Then we had the pandemic [which delayed the opening], I got married, I had a baby... Personally, this time has been so special." Although "incredibly sad" that Frozen was finishing, Barks added: "I don't feel I'll ever really say goodbye to this character because it's such a part of me now ... I'm so proud of us all - it's a huge achievement."

Speaking on stage after the final performance, the producer Thomas Schumacher hailed the "miracle-makers" who had worked on Frozen. He described the cast as "athletes" and recognised in particular the work of the swing performers who were ready to step into a role at short notice.

"You can't imagine what it's like for them. Sometimes they know a week ahead, sometimes they know five minutes ahead, sometimes it's in the middle of Act Two. They are prepared to go on and take care of everybody else who is around them. And that is really extraordinary."