Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ is a well-known classic tale of good versus evil, where a jealous Queen orders the death of her young stepdaughter only to have her wicked plans thwarted by her being taken in and looked after by seven little men who live in the wood.

With an original script by Jason Mawby and produced by Christopher Pratt, this was a lively retelling of the story delivered by a very enthusiastic young cast (some of whom was their first time performing with the group) who obviously relished every moment of being on stage. 

Even before the curtains opened, the ample audience were clapping along enthusiastically to the opening music.  We then had the ensemble dancers who formed part of a dance troupe interspersed throughout the story linked to the theme. We first meet Alice (Faith Leek) who told us all about Snow White and gave us a dire warning about the wicked Queen - Snow White’s evil stepmother.

The Wicked Queen (Adele Pratt) then appeared clad in purple and bathed in an eerie green light accompanied by her Magic Mirror (Zoe McNamee).  The Magic Mirror was a wonderful character dressed in black, clutching a large frame, so her face poked out, she had some of the best wittiest lines of the show with her deadpan delivery.  She was a master of the double-speak running rings around her mistress fuelling the Queen’s jealously as to who was the ‘fairest of the land’.

Next the Huntsmen, who formed the comedy duo of the show, played by Summer Pickford and Caitlin Francis. Both characters interacted wonderfully with each other resulting in lots of hilarious misunderstandings for example the Queen’s order to ‘take Snow White out’ was mistaken for to take her somewhere nice.  Their dance routine to ‘You’re So Vain’ was another highlight as they pushed and elbowed each other in a bid to get to the mirror and even dragged each other across the floor.  The hapless Huntsmen take Snow White into the ‘Deep Dark Trusthorpe Woods’ and leave her with a picnic and to the mercy of the wild creatures within.

Another funny character was the King (Charlie Payne) who was obviously terrified of his wife the Queen peeking nervously through the curtains asking if it was safe to come out.  Charlie played his part confidently and had many funny lines.

Snow White finds the little cottage in the woods and decides to tidy the house.  In true Disney style, she enlists the assistance of some woodland creatures to help her - another chorus number to ‘Happy Working Song’ as, in time to the music, they scrubbed floors and dusted the walls.

The seven dwarfs then made their entrance marching down the aisle to the strains of ‘Heigh Ho.’  They wore simple outfits that matched their personalities and acted according to their attributes.  For example, Sleepy was wearing pyjamas and Dopey was wearing brightly coloured dungarees and Sneezy couldn’t stop sneezing.  They are confused as to how their once messy abode was suddenly so tidy till they discover the culprit Snow White fast asleep lying across their beds. 

But every Panto needs its handsome Prince and here we have Prince Harry (Karlos Denning) with lots of humorous references to another Prince Harry who found the ‘grass was not greener on the other side of the pond.’  Prince Harry was the childhood friend that Snow White used to play with but now the prince had split from his wife and was anxious to remarry. 

The Queen soon realises that she has been tricked by the incompetent Huntsmen and decides to concoct an evil potion to send Snow White into eternal slumber.  She enlists the help of some audience members resulting in one of the funniest scenes as she enters dressed head to foot in PPE and enlists the Magic Mirror and the volunteers to help her make her potion.  We have the Magic Mirror innocently shouting ‘frogs legs, four eyes and crows feet’ which are obviously veiled insults at the Queen.  The scene and Act 1 finishes with the traditional custard pie in the face as the Queen says ‘give it to me’ - but will the wicked Queen get her way to ger rid of Snow White or will true love’s kiss save the day?

There were some very good performances from the cast with lots of local references which the audience greatly appreciated – Is Willoughby really that rough?!  Also, some modern references to google maps and Alexa.  Snow White herself even has a dig at the children always being on the internet.  I loved the seven dwarfs especially their traditional slapstick routine ‘If I was Upon the Stage’ changed to ‘Working in the Mines this routine requires focus and excellent comic timing, and the team really pulled it off. 

The atmospheric ‘Rotten to The Core’ as the chorus, bathed in ultraviolet lights and dressed in menacing black hoodies, circled the Wicked Queen was another highlight.  One of the chorus members, Kaynan, remarked afterwards it was his favourite scene as he didn’t have to smile!

Jade Manning as Snow White played her part well as the slightly naïve ditzy heroine remarking to the Wicked Queen disguised as an old woman that she couldn’t hear what she was saying as the ‘boys and girls were trying to tell her something’.  Zoe McNamee was wonderful as the Magic Mirror.  She broke the fourth wall by complaining bitterly that she hadn’t been seen since Act 1 and had only an off stage cut off scene which was particularly annoying as her boss was in the audience!  Her interactions with the Queen were very good as she always got the upper hand gleefully informing us that the Queen was now working in Grimsby MacDonalds.  

Special mention to the fantastic Huntsmen, Summer and Caitlin, who provided much of the humour bantering skilfully with each other while fixing the audience with an innocent smile.  Summer and Caitlin were also part of the choreography team, and this was very apparent when they lead the chorus dance finale. 

Adele Pratt was fantastic as the wicked Queen, a part she had to step in to and learn at very short notice. Adele looked like she was having far too much fun with the part as she danced and ‘body rolled’ with the chorus.  She created a very believable wicked Queen without resorting to over-the-top cackling usually associated with this character which contrasted perfectly to her old crone creation.  Her interactions with the Henchmen and the Magic Mirror were also excellent.   

Sound and lighting were atmospheric and used very well especially in the ‘Rotten to the Core’ number and to highlight the Queen’s wickedness.  Costumes were good and in keeping with the theme.  I liked that Adele kept her glasses, so the four-eyes comment from the Magic Mirror’ was very funny.  Snow White wore a traditional Disney dress, and she had a few ‘mini mes’ in the audience.  The sets were simple to reflect the scene, for example a kitchen back drop with pans and cracked windows for the seven dwarfs’ cottage.  The whole auditorium was used well with characters running to the back of the room and reappearing back at the front via a back-stage door. 

Well done to everyone involved in the production, both onstage and backstage, especially the chaperones supervising a team of enthusiastic youngsters without whose help it would not be possible to stage the show.

Thank you to Bernard and Pauline Dobbs and David Cawthorn for their warm welcome and for providing refreshments during the interval.  This truly is a community panto for a local audience but was also greatly enjoyed by this Noda Representative.  It was also the group’s 76th panto but they need support to keep this wonderful pantomime going for many years to come.  It is local volunteers that are the life blood of any organisation providing set building skills and help back-stage. So, if you live in the area and feel you can lend your time and skills, come along to the meeting on 26th March at Trusthorpe Village Hall and help keep the magic alive for future generations. 

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