A COLOURFUL whirlwind of stories and adventure are set to collide when Once Upon a Snowflake comes to Salisbury Arts Centre later this month.

Paper Balloon Theatre and Half Moon are presenting the performance billed as “playful, imaginative and original” for family audiences aged three and over on January 31.

Blending shadow puppetry, Paper Balloon’s signature style of storytelling, and a live soundtrack, the adventure involves a number of tiny elf-like Winter Sprites and the mysterious disappearance of a little girl called Liza.

Appearing every winter, the Sprites can be found hiding in pockets, shoes and sock drawers, watching everything and hearing everyone.

And it is one Sprite in particular with a fascination for snowflakes who leads the quest into the unknown to try to find Liza.

Paper Balloon artistic director Alex Kanefsky said: “Music is integral to all our performances. For this piece we wanted a live score to accompany action all the way through. It helps set the atmosphere, tell the story, provides tension and adds an extra dimension to the words and images of the performance.”

Performances on Saturday, January 31 will be at 11am and 2pm.

Tickets are £7.50, £6.50 concessions or £24 for a family of four and can be booked at salisburyartscentre.co.uk or through the box office on 01722 321744.