Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

It was lovely to be back to see Company of Four’s panto again. It was 3rd time lucky for this show and finally took to the stage after being postponed, from you know why!!   This was Mary’s first time at both writing a Panto and directing it, but she certainly succeeded on both counts  along with her husband Paul,  who assisted with the direction. They made a very capable team, being old hands in this genre.  The script  which was possibly just slightly too long in the first Act,  had all the familiar “it’s behind you” slapstick comedy and terrible jokes with a multitude of well chosen songs. 

Natalie Barker was the suitably evil Queen Priscilla and had the audience in good voice booing her as she concocted her plans to get rid of Snow White.  She was accompanied by the reflection in the mirror, Sarah Wheatley as Margo Mirror, who had a good sense of humour as she tells the Queen she is not the fairest in all the land. Her sparkly costume was certainly effective and shone out well through the mirror.  Vicky Fosker was the happy and colourful Fairy Flibbertigibbert who set the scenes and ensured that the Queen did not get her evil way with Snow White to ensure a happy ending. I have to say her rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ was for me the stand-out song of the show. It was excellent and was complemented with a beautiful ballet by the talented Jessica Jay.

Lily Griffiths was Snow White who captured her character beautifully and interacted well with the seven dwarfs. I have already mentioned that Paul Leech assisted with direction and was also the Dame, Kassandra Kleeneezee. He is so skilful at the art of ‘ad lib’ and is certainly no stranger to panto, this being his 30th Panto and 12 appearance as Dame. It is so evident that it is a role he enjoys immensely and he brings out all the comedy required as he interacts with his audience.   Tank and Top  (Simon Hoyle and Darren Scriven) are the 2 comedians who are supposed to take Snow White into the wood and kill her, but alas they aren’t up to the job, much to the Queen’s annoyance. They make a good couple, playing the fool, communicating well with their audience and totally messing up the slap stick scene much to the amusement of all, whilst trying to hang some wallpaper in the palace. Catherine Dale is Prince Emmanuel who charms her way into the affections of Snow White, and brings her back to life, much to the happiness of the seven dwarfs.  These seven were funny and delightful in their acting, singing and dancing. They are certainly some young names here to look out for in the future.

 This large cast also consisted of 36 ensemble, the youngest of whom were just 5 years old. There were some really good chorus numbers with both lively and energetic performances.  It is so good to see some of these young people really throwing themselves into their roles from a very young age and all credit to the 4 choreographers for their patience and expertise.

 It was the first time Dermot, had taken up the baton as MD for the Company.  He, along with his 4 other musicians are talented local performers.  He had worked with other local amateur Societies and certainly brought out the best in this company, producing some great numbers. Unfortunately there did seem to be some slight technical problems with the sound system, but hopefully these issues were resolved by the following performances.  The costumes for such a large cast are always a very demanding task and they produced some good colourful costumes with many matching for all the chorus members. The set mainly utilising flyers for quick and seamless scene changes kept the pace moving well. There was some additional set and props including the Queen’s mirror which looked and was very effective to create just the right illusion.  The lighting also worked well to enhance the set.

It is so good to see the audiences back in abundance and the casts really all enjoying being back together again.  Well done to all the cast and crew for a very entertaining evening in front of a very appreciate audience. 

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