Inspired by a horrifying true story, five-star thriller We Know Now Snowmen Exist brings its tale of icy terror to London later this month, playing from 19 to 23 March at The Space. Book your tickets now… if you’re brave enough!
Written by Michael Spencer, We Know Now Snowmen Exist is inspired by the unsolved Dyatlov Pass Incident of 1959, in which nine ski-hikers died in the Ural Mountains in still-unexplained circumstances. Six of the party died from hypothermia, having fled their tent in differing states of undress. Three received injuries deemed unlikely to have been delivered by a human. Their bodies were found over the space of four months; some up trees, some missing parts of their face…
Set in the modern day, a group of women set out on a charity hike… and never return. What really awaits the girls outside the relative safety of their tent – and more importantly, do they really know who’s inside it? Why was the tent cut open? Why were the bodies partially dressed in each other’s’ clothing? And what was meant by the group’s chilling final journal entry; ‘We know now that snowmen exist’.
We Know Now Snowmen Exist was a smash hit at the Carlisle Fringe Festival in 2018, winning the Creative Spark Commission for New Theatre in a sold out five-star run. It is now a finalist for the prestigious Cumbria Culture Awards Live Production of the Year.
Speaking about the show, director Lexie Ward said: “We are incredibly excited to bring We Know Now Snowmen Exist to London. It is a play that mixes a terrifying urban legend (don’t google The Dyatlov Pass before bed!) with these raucous relatable Scottish characters, discussing everything from Netflix and Chill to the issues with shee-wees. As a company Highly Suspect passionate about working with and promoting regional voices, so are thrilled that Snowmen has an all Scottish cast, and that all of the cast and creative team are either natively Cumbrian, or were trained/reside there. ”
The all-female cast of We Know Now Snowmen Exist incudes Rowan Kikke (Lisa), Rebekah Holly Neilson (Rachael), Vanessa Sedgwick (Chloe), Chloe Sturrock (Hayley), and Naomi Webster (Zoe). In keeping with the Cumbrian tradition of Highly Suspect, all the actors are either Cumbrian-born or trained in England’s northernmost county.
The cast of We Know Now Snowmen Exist
Director Lexie Ward won the NODA Best Director Award in 2015 for her production of Tom, Dick and Harry. She was also Assistant Director for Sense and Sensibility at Theatre by the Lake in 2018.
Writer Michael Spencer has had pieces performed at Southwark Playhouse and The Other Palace, as well as writing for radio and having his play Unholy Congregation toured.
About Highly Suspect
Lexie Ward and Michael Spencer formed Highly Suspect in 2013. Since then, they have established themselves as one of the country’s leading Murder Mystery companies. They have performed at prestigious venues such as Durham Cathedral, The National Centre for the Written Word and Blackpool Winter Gardens. In 2018, they branched out to create original theatre pieces. We Know Now Snowmen Exist marked the transition from being solely a murder mystery performance company to a theatre company creating original plays. The production was a finalist for Live Production of the Year at the Cumbria Culture Awards 2019. It also won the Creative Spark Commission for New Theatre at the Carlisle Fringe Festival 2018.
