Bristol Hippodrome – until 2nd January 2022
Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock
4****
Panto is back in town-oh no it isn’t! Oh yes it is! And this panto is a real treat!
Lesley Joseph joins Rob Rinder and Andy Ford as the front runners of Snow White, this winter in Bristol.
This is a real treat of a cast, with Hippodrome regular Andy Ford as the likeable comic, immediately building a seamless rapport with the audience and capturing the audience in a heartbeat. Together with Lesley Joseph, this duo has one of the best skits I have ever seen in a show-(Who, What, I Don’t Know!)-one that actually brought me to tears with laughter! A true pantomime genius!
Rinder commanded the stage with ease and it was difficult to believe that this was his first panto. The script alluded heavily to his legal career with multiple scenes containing legal jargon, that flew over the heads of the children. His appearance on BBC’s Strictly was also featured, with a dance battle against Ford being one of the hilarious scenes. As the ‘Man in the Mirror’ he was a great part of this show.
Lesley Joseph, as the looks-obsessed Queen Dragonella was a character the audience loved and loved to hate! She is obsessed with marrying Prince Harry (Dale Mathurin) and will stop at nothing to stop Snow White (Charlotte Haines) getting him first. Joseph was side splittingly funny and had some of the best scenes when intwined with Ford.
Haines and Mathurin as Snow White and Prince Harry served to be merely plot devices and seemed to be weaker than the other cast members. The script didn’t allow Haines to truly embrace the character however she did have a good voice when she was given the odd song to sing. Mathurin was strong, his vocals were good and he tried his hardest not to corpse when pitted against Ford and Joseph!
Technically, this was a feast for the eyes. With multiple pyrotechnics, sparkly costumes and even a dragon to soar above the audience, there is no contest that both children and adults alike will be enthralled with the performance.
One part I thoroughly enjoyed, was the cast introducing and thanking members of the creative team-something that certainly made me beam! If you fancy something camper than Christmas, filled with laughter, joy and innuendo along with technical brilliance and catchy songs-look no further than Bristol Hippodrome!