Snow White

This particular pantomime is without doubt the most popular one for the 2014 festive season, in both the amateur and professional world – it seems to be on everywhere! On the amateur stage it provides an opportunity for children to play a role other than chorus and the seven young people in your production rose well to the challenge. They each portrayed their individual characteristics convincingly and Carys Fuller was notably loud and clear as Cheeky.

The scenery was wonderful, as always, you really do produce excellent pantomime sets, and the costumes too were super.

Maggie Dean looked elegant as the storyteller and her diction was excellent.

The Voice of the Magic Mirror also projected well but I didn’t understand why Gareth Day was dressed in an evening suit and felt it would have fitted the story better had he been dressed in something more suitable for the era.

All the players performed well but there were two particularly impressive performances in the pantomime and they were from Anwen Fuller and Thomas Manley.

Anwen was excellent as Queen Morgiana. She was commanding, every word could be heard, and her dramatic hand movements, sometimes forgotten or eased off as the performance lengthens, never flagged. Her costume was perfect for the character.

Thomas has an amazing talent for one so young and, although the Dame is usually played by an older man, he was absolutely first class in the role. Despite his youth all the saucy bits were delivered with a twinkle in his eye and he was able to ad lib with the audience when needed. Well done!

As Snow White Jess Taylor was well cast making an innocent, enthusiastic and lovely Princess, but it was difficult not to focus on her lips all the time as they glistened and glittered! Pantomime I know but a little distracting never the less. She has a pretty voice but was a slightly overpowered by the music.

Fairy Goodheart was a little underplayed by Jayne Taylor. Goody two shoes parts never grab the audience’s attention like the baddies do but she could have put more drama into the role and made herself just as important as Queen Morgiana. After all in every pantomime good overcomes evil so never be afraid to be strong in the role!

Mike and Michelle were fine as Mr and Mrs Bowler, not much to get their teeth into in those parts, and Neale Winter engaged the audience and played the fool Muddles in a very relaxed and convincing way.

Herman, a gruff and aggressive individual, was played strongly by Anthony Doggwiler and the three rather gormless henchmen, Ivan, Hector and Hereward (Steve Smith, Luke Pulfer and Ollie Frost) added to the comedy. Luke was the one who was totally engaged in the action the whole time.

Ellie Gething was likeable as Not-Randy, and as Prince Lorenzo Rachel Barnes also acquitted herself well and the duet between she and Snow White was good. Her make up was rather too pale.

The other small parts and the chorus all added to the whole and made the pantomime an entertaining one.

As for the script I felt it was not one of the best, and indeed there were some long stretches of dialogue, when there were only two or three people on stage, that could have been shortened. There was one section between the Dame and Not Randy that went on much too long and just wasn’t interesting enough to keep the audience’s attention. It helps too if there is more structure to the movements in those sections as three people just standing in a straight doesn’t look very natural,

On the music front there is the continuing problem of abrupt cut off at the end of the songs—it really does spoil them. I wonder why you don’t sing a full number instead of cutting them so much. Better to cut uninteresting dialogue than songs that are being well sung and enjoyed by the audience.

The children on stage representing animals needed more artistic groupings and standing upright just doesn’t work – some on their knees and other varied poses would have looked more attractive and also more animal like.

At the start of Act Two there was another eye-catching backcloth and plenty of business in ‘Good Morning’.

The three men finding the password was a nice modern touch in the pantomime and caused plenty of laughter in the audience, and I liked the routine with the Prince and the mirror – well rehearsed and performed.

The bedroom scenery was great and the bed coming out of the wall was brilliant!

The choreography in the musical numbers was clearly well rehearsed and I’m a great believer in simple movements that are performed as one rather than complicated ones that leave some of the cast struggling.

Make up was mostly O.K but some of the ladies chorus were very pale and needed blusher.

Sound and lighting were good and enhanced the production.

Those on stage worked hard to put across the contents of the script but the numerous local references, jokes and other additions were the ones that helped engage the audience.

Your programme is probably the best I’ve seen you produce for a pantomime – maybe you would like to enter it in the NODA poster/programme competition and if so then send off six copies to Kay Rowan the NODA South East Councillor as soon as possible - they need to be in early January.

Thank you for inviting me to see ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ which provided a good evening’s entertainment and was much appreciated by the audience.

I shall look forward to seeing your play in May and meantime wish you all at St. Hilda’s Entertainers a very happy and healthy 2015.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.