The Grand Opera House, York – until 4 January 2020
Reviewed by Sara Garner
4****
One of the classic brothers Grimm tales, which has changed/evolved over time. Disney introduced the idea of the dwarfs and other changes to the tale. Chris Morenos version sees variations in elements of the story. The wicked Queen is Snow Whites auntie who is jealous of her youth and beauty. She plots to kill Snow White using her Lord Chancellor and soldiers but is thwarted by an array of characters all of whom are friends of Snow White and love her dearly in comfortably traditional pantomime.
Yes it was cliche but it was reassuringly so, with all the expected characters coming out of storage for the pantomime season. With the usual share of straight characters, funny characters and daft characters.
The first half meandered along at a bit of worryingly plodding pace with some of the humour falling a bit flat. Yes we were introduced to the main characters and there was the usual flurry of borderline gags. However despite some great characters, including Martin Daniels as Muddles and Steve Wickenden as Nurse Brexit, something did not sit right with the first half. Whether it was the odd fluffed line or the occasionally unbelievable characterisation, such as the apparently evil Queen who was just not nasty enough. Also at first I found the seven dwarfs just a bit too creepy to be likable and the voice overs used for them was like a badly synced martial arts movie.
The second half however was a revaluation, a tour de force of panto campness and silliness. Here the characters truly blossomed and the interaction with the audience was perfectly pantoesque. Even the adult groups around us sang and danced along when they could and the laughometer was working overtime with the endless bad gags and funny interactions.
Louise Henry in her professional debut as Snow White was excellent, if not a bit quiet at times. However her singing was stunning. As was Johnny Muirs as Prince Rudolph.
However as with all pantomimes it is the funny characters that carry the show. I’ve already mentioned the super Martin Daniels as Muddles and Steve Wickendens as Nurse Brexit. Ben Fry as the town crier was also very funny in only his second pantomime role and Mark Littles Lord Chancellor, once he settled into the role was very good. Despite my earlier reservation Vicki Michelle carried her role as the Wicken Queen really well.
Special mention of the dances and the youngsters in the cast who were flawless in their performances.
The way to judge a pantomime is how you feel when you leave the theatre. Well I felt thoroughly entertained and cheered up enough to feel quite festive, not my usual ‘Bah humbug’.