Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I was delighted to visit MAD panto for the first time since Jan 2019 and even more delighted to find that nothing has changed, and this still ranks as one of the better pantomimes I see each season.

With an Alan Frayn Script, groups cannot go far wrong, and with strong direction this show was a real delight.

Of unexpected necessity, the usual 5-piece band had to be dispensed with this year, so the shows music was provided by backing tracks. This wasn’t ideal but it worked well enough and did not detract from spontaneity, although I did miss the usual live musicians. The cast had been well drilled in the vocals and choreography and the large company numbers had good impact, everyone smiled, and everyone gave the numbers much energy from the youngest to the oldest. There was a good age range in this production and the cast was very inclusive.

Yes, the show took a short while to get going, but once it got into its stride, there was no stopping it and there were some excellent performances. Direction showed a keen eye on comedy and comedic performances and the audience laughed loud and long and I have to say this was one of the funniest pantomimes I have seen this year (and I count the pro shows in that as well). As a result, it got a great response from the audience at the finale.

Fairy Fortune and Queen Avarice provided the good and bad elements and got the show off to a good start (apart from the initial slow prologue). The queen was an especially good find, and both gave excellent performances although I was intrigued as to why good and bad had been switched around. Good should always be stage right and bad stage left.

Snow White looked the part and slightly sent it up, which I really did like. There were some lovely moments between her and the prince, played with real comic relish and more than a hint of naughtiness. The Magic Mirror (merlin) was given a beautifully camp performance and this young performer showed good dance ability that was used elsewhere throughout the show.

Dame Edna Bucket and Chuckles made a great comic pair and their teamwork was excellent, as was comic timing throughout the production. I really enjoyed the bad jokes from chuckles (some of them deliberately very bad – the lady behind me almost had a prolapse from laughing so much). The second comic pair were Justice Quill and Scribbles, and these also displayed great timing and good teamwork. Scribbles was an example of how this group gives effective training to young performers who can then give professional performances worthy of a someone of older years.

Slurp added to the merriment with the constant reminder to limp on the right foot.

The seven dwarfs were fully grown adults, with no attempt to perform on knees etc, but it mattered not. They worked well as a ream and were really a sort of a second chorus, backed up by the actual very large chorus of all ages.

The choreography was well planned for this relatively small stage and everyone had been well drilled. There were certainly no hangers on this production. I was very impressed with some of the youngest members of the cast who were very  focussed and disciplined.

Costumes are always in house for this group and were very colourful and effective. Scenery was also well planned and produced. It is true to say that perhaps this pantomime wasn’t quite as spectacular as some I have seen here in the past but that mattered not as the cast were providing first rate entertainment which really delivered on all levels.

The technical aspects were all handled well, with good lighting and sound. We only comment on these aspects if something is wrong and it is easy to overlook the hard work put into this side of a production. The group has a good technical team who made sure things ran seamlessly.

The production satisfied all the elements required for a successful pantomime. It appealed to all ages, it was certainly not boring, it was not over long, comic timing was spot on, there was a great choice of musical numbers , it didn’t try to be too clever, it made its impact very quickly in order to keep audience attention, the principal cast delighted in their comic portrayals and the whole thing was delivered with a very large nudge nudge wink wink and good pace. There were no dead spots between scenes, so the show kept driving forward (something that so many amateur pantomimes do not achieve) .

Hopefully next year the live band will be back, with spontaneous percussion input, but its absence this year certainly did not spoil the production and heartiest congratulations go to the entire company.

 

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