Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Written by Ben Crocker, this pantomime completed my viewing list for this genre for 2017/18 and, as in previous years, it turned out to be a real community affair distinguished by the substantial number of young people in the cast. It is most heartening to come across such a large number of youngsters willing to give of their time to learn the words, tunes and dance routines that enable them to make such a significant contribution to this annual entertainment. John Munton, chair of this society, calculates that over 1,500 children have taken part in their shows since the group was formed. With such obvious expressions of happiness on the faces of these young performers, smiles soon spread.

The action took place on well-designed and constructed sets; I was particularly impressed with the dwarf’s cottage which had a scaled down door requiring adults to bend in order to gain entry. Much thought had been given to the colourful costumes, from the traditional outfit worn by Becca Moss (as Snow White) to the striking apparel of Jo Strickland (as Queen Caligula). Matt Smith’s costume when dressed as a crow was very effective. All the players were quickly into character and apart from a few prompts, delivered their lines with confidence; they also made good use of the large stage space available to them and those dancers that had gymnastic movements incorporated in their choreography executed such moves with panache. At the performance I attended there was  a young girl in the audience who was very well acquainted with the story line and was able to brief anyone should they have doubts as to what was going to happen next!   

Judicious use was made of pyrotechnics as well as sound and lighting effects in this production, there was also lots of corny jokes. The backstage crew carried out very slick scene changes which helped maintain a good pace. This was a fine example of what can be achieved through teamwork. Well done all who were involved!     

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