Gerda and Kay are best friends. Yet when Kay gets a splinter in his eye, everything changes in an instant. He finds Gerda and his other friends childish, plain and silly, and follows the enticing voice of the icily beautiful Snow Queen. Now Gerda sets off, and while she searches for Kay she finds herself: in the eerily beautiful realm of the Flower Queen, the humdrum golden court of the Princess, the dangerous and dark cave of the Robber Queen, she learns to stand up for herself and her friends. With help from the Crow and the Reindeer she finally finds the way to the cold north of Lapland, and is able to free Kay from the Snow Queen's clutches with the true power of friendship – laughter.

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales have been integral to children's bedrooms for generations, inspiring authors and composers alike. Now the Tischlerei at the Deutsche Oper Berlin will turn into the icy cold world of the Snow Queen in December and January. Composer Samuel Penderbayne, librettist Christian Schönfelder and director Brigitte Dethier are going on Gerda's journey with one actress, three singers and five musicians. With humour and awe they will tell a road-trip movie together: musical flowers, a croaking clarinet, a tuba reindeer and the eerily beautiful synthesiser world of the Snow Queen are just a few ingredients in this musical theatre in which the children experience the story up close.