The Magical Tale of Snow White

It was with great pleasure that we were invited to see the KYDS Youth Drama Society pantomime – The Magical Tale of Snow White. This was a really excellent choice, as there were all the ingredients of a true panto but updated with local references and modern jokes.  The choices of songs were excellent allowing us to really be able to sing along to the numbers.  This was a great, cheerful and colourful show to greet us on such a cold Winter’s night.

KYDS also had a new venue which in my opinion was a super choice.  I do hope this will be their new home for future productions. Good to see new young people involved with this excellent young people’s society and definitely the stars of the future.

We all know the fairy tale of Snow White and this story was told with a very enthusiastic cast on their first night. With only three performances, the amount of work that went into this production by Debut Directors, Olly Smith and Alice Mason with help from Assistant Director  Matt Russell, was a large undertaking but I think they should be proud of their achievements. Maybe the first half could have been cut a little as a tad too long but nevertheless well done.

Snow White (Nicola Brady) embodied the role well and looked every inch the character.  Sweet and kind she quietly got into her stride and enjoyed every minute of her time on stage.  She encompassed the naivety of the role which was needed to make us route for her.

Prince Harry of Corbett (Oliver Wise) did look very regal as the Prince with fabulous costume and obviously was intent on giving a good performance.  Maybe a smile and some show of how much in love with Snow White he was would have helped his character and give him more enjoyment of his role. I’m sure this was just first night nerves as he seemed word perfect.

Dame Daisy Maisy (Ewan Moore) came on stage in a blaze of colour, incredible drag make-up, wig and the outrageous outfits which befits a Dame. Loud and brash, he commanded the stage with confidence and timing.  With his son Hugh Humperdinck (George Govus)  they worked the stage well together.  George as Hugh bounced onto the stage with extreme confidence and what a lovely smile he had with which he exuded warmth and happiness to the audience.  These two worked so well together and even when things occasionally did not go as planned, covered well, much to the audience’s delight. The usual song routine at the end of the show got the whole audience singing.

Eloise Cass as Diabolas Stubble the evil henchman of Queen Griselda, had the confidence needed to get us booing and in the end cheering when she went off with Daisy Maisy. A very good performance by this young lady with a cheerfulness and clarity of speech which showed she understood her character well.

The Mirror (Darci Hales), opened the show with ‘Let me Entertain you’, in a sparkly diamond costume and hat.  I did wonder if the muslin from which she was behind most of the time, made it sometimes hard to hear what she said.  Maybe sound could have turned up her mic as sometimes I lost what she said which was a shame as most of her dialogue with the Queen was very funny.

The Miners all worked well together, with good team character work.  I particularly loved the different names used for the Miners, especially Keith (Emily Reynolds) who jumped out to shake hands every time someone introduced her. 

The Ensemble was drilled well, doing justice to the whole show with some good dance numbers. The Vampire bats, providing the traditional ‘Its behind you’ scene, with the Dame and Hugh, went down a storm with the audience.  The excerpts of ‘Just Eat’ led by Vinnie Weymouth were very funny and his gold jacket gave him the confidence he needed to be absolutely fabulous.  I do hope we get to see him more in the next show.

Last but not least was for me the star of the show. Grace Bryson as Queen Griselda, who was simply amazing.  She has grown up to be a super little star of the future.  Not only did she look stunning in her black lacy costume and leather trousers but she understood the concept of being nasty and wrung out every word and sentence to make her character totally evil. What a great cackle!!!  She had good comic timing and was able to work the audience incredibly well.  As an actress who has done this role before, I am totally in awe of the amount of work she obviously put into this and I do hope she now goes on to a Performing Arts degree as I feel she is one to watch.  KYDS have a great habit of finding young talent and I am sure this will continue. Huge congratulations Grace.

Sound and lighting was good although it would have been nice to have seen some lighting on the stage itself but I understand that this time around it was not possible due to venue issues.  There are always teething problems when you are in a new venue so many congratulations to the technical team for the little time they had to get this all organised. The back stage crew worked tirelessly, moving scenery without problems.  So good to see ex members of the society, returning to help out. This shows the amount of respect and commitment this society has.  It was also good to see families in the audience being so supportive of their children. Getting young people into the theatre is important as it gives them so much confidence and knowledge for their future. This society really does so well to achieve this, providing the members the challenges they need.

Well done to everyone for a great evening out. We look forward to seeing what you choose for your next show.

 

 

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