Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was my first panto this year and it marked the directorial debut of Alison Darksus at Retford for their Operatic Society. She did tremendously well, pulling off a traditional panto, full of energy and laughs that went down great with the capacity audience in the delightful, as always, Retford Little Theatre.

Walking into the theatre, the live band were positioned right inside the door on full view throughout the show. Musical Director Martin Yates, also on keyboards, kept the show moving along with a slick musical accompaniment. I was especially impressed with the two woodwind musicians Sunil Vidhani and Yvonne Smith who managed to switch effortlessly, and quickly, between instruments, even part way through songs (and Yvonne was in charge of the wonderful costumes too).  Richard Oaks and Angela King completed a great house band that added so much to the show. What a huge benefit it is to have a live band, something that so many societies can’t achieve. It added enormously to the show.

Sarah Mitchell as Queen Malevolent was just right – resisting the temptation to go ‘over the top’, she was a convincing baddie who garnered all the necessary boos and hisses from the audience without any prompting. Excellent recall for all the ingredients to her poison recipe in Act Two as well. Simon Cox’s make up as the Spirit of the Mirror was perfect.

I was really pleased to see such a plethora of young talent in this show, taking on most of the principal roles. The association of the society with the nearby Staples Dance Academy and having its own hugely successful youth section, The MOB, clearly pays off at Retford, with a rich supply of young talented actors, singers and dancers.

Ben Marsh as the youthfully ancient Lord Chamberlain was the first of the young actors to take to the stage and convincingly kept up his ‘fuddy duddiness’ to the end, whilst at the same time showing himself as an accomplished dancer. I especially loved his comic dancing to ‘Twist and Shout’.

Then we come to Ed Grayson-Footitt as Handy Andy - the pivotal role in this panto. Bright and breezy from the off, Ed’s energy levels never dropped, right to the last curtain, when he reminded me of a sparkly Norman Wisdom with his back to front glittery cap. He was really good with the audience as we looked after his prized rose bush. His love struck fainting over Snow White was brilliant – I loved the laugh from the little girl in the audience and his reaction. His chickening out of telling Snow White just how he felt was very well timed, as was his slow motion entry at the start of Act Two to once again protect his rose bush.

Ed can dance, sing and act and has wonderful stage presence. He held the entire show together, was the audience’s friend and entertained us all. Well done.

Snow White is a difficult part to play as we all have in our minds just what she should look and act like. Elysia Wood was perfect in this title role. What a beautiful singing voice from ‘I’ve Got Everything in Front of Me’ to the delightful harmonies of ‘Somewhere Out There’ and melodies of ‘We All Stand Together’. Crystal clear lyrics too. Well done Elysia.

Jamie Savage was our Dame Doitall and he did just that – singing, dancing and acting his way through the show. I loved the make up and the perfectly synchronised movements with the Queen when inside her mirror. Jamie’s party outfit was fantastic. His rapport with Handy Andy was convincing and genuine, as demonstrated in numbers like ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me.’ I loved the line from one of the cameo roles, Charlie, ‘please stop touching me.’ Jamie’s over acted anguish in Act Two when he thought Snow White was dead was very funny. Jamie is a master of the ‘Ghost gag’ scene, that all the audience know the lines to and join in enthusiastically with every year. Well done Jamie and good luck in your next, fast approaching show in Mansfield.

Josh Parker played, as the Dame called him, ‘His Royal Effluence’ Prince Rupert, as ‘drop dead gorgeous as Jeremy Corbyn’ garnering a wolf whistle for his moon walking. A youthful looking Steve Coogan, Josh was a very well spoken Prince. He had some lovely songs with Snow White and the other characters, that went down so well with the audience. Josh was just right for the part and even got to dance with his real life Mum on stage too – and did so wonderfully.

Aly McDonald was a convincing Huntsman (loved the beard) who seemed genuinely upset when she realised she had been sent, under hypnosis, to kill our heroine.

And so to our super seven dwarfs, led by their ‘Chief’, Rowan Houghton. Rowan’s confident stage presence gave all the others the lead. Rowan’s ability to give clear instructions in this panto will no doubt come in handy when it comes to her future career of midwifery. Good luck! Each of the dwarfs had really worked on their characterisations – from the questionable nasal habits of Sniffles to the trembling of Timid. Well done to all seven of you – the audience loved clapping along with you.

A panto isn’t a panto with a strong supporting cast and Snow White at Retford was no exception to the rule. Those in minor roles, the chorus and the dancers all gave great support. Indeed, the choreography of the show was one of the best examples I’ve seen. Dawn Denman and her assistants must have made everyone work so hard. But all that rehearsing certainly paid off.

The technical and back stage crew were pivotal as always in getting and keeping this show on the stage. The lighting by Cody McGinty and Dom Rogers worked really well, from the gloominess of the threatening forest to the splendour of the palace. And the cast worked well in the light provided. The ultra violet dance was good and I especially liked how only one gloved hand was illuminated on each character. The sound by Adam Pace and Vanessa Smith was well controlled, often difficult with a live band and there was only the occasional time when the band overpowered the singers, but this is a sacrifice worth making to have a house band.

There was a big team of staging personnel and they worked well together to keep scene changes slick and quick – as they have to be to stop the momentum flagging.

The children were safeguarded with a host of chaperones, so important in a big production like this under Safeguarding Lead Jane Heald and it was pleasing to see the children being marked off the register as they left the stage door afterwards.

As always everyone at Retford made me so welcome. You have set the bar high for pantos I shall see this year. Well done to Alison Darksus and the whole team. I bet everyone is feeling so sad that the run has come to an end. There’s always next year of course and your Spring Centenary Show, ‘Oklahoma’. What a lovely Society you are that has obviously well earned its success. Congratulations to you all and Merry Christmas!

 

Andrew Key

 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.