The Magical Tale of Snow White

Many thanks for your kind welcome to view your pantomime for the first time. It was gratifying to see the hall filling up with your enthusiastic audience. It was very interesting to read your informative programme which contained a myriad of information about the show and all the other areas needed to ensure the performance you give to your public is the best you can do.

The original tale of Snow White written by the Grimm brothers in 1812 was a much darker tale than the one produced by Disney in 1937 where we still find some of the magical elements but the dwarfs have been given individual names and personalities. I was looking forward to seeing the personalities of your ‘Miners’.

When seated we noticed the hall had been decorated with swags of daisies with butterflies on. The stage at the front of the hall had closed curtains with ‘Heigh ho heigh ho off to work we go’ written above it. Set in the centre of the stage was a beautifully decorated mirror with what appeared to be a reflective surface with a lit edge. There was an apron attached on the front with well used steps down to the hall. There were beautifully painted mine entrances, Probus Mine with ‘Danger do not Enter’ stage left and Tregony Mine stage right. This gave the impression that your miners worked in the mine closest to home.  The four-piece band was positioned at stage right in front of the hall.

I must congratulate you on your choice of script it was fast moving and had all the elements of the Snow White tale with a poisoned apple, lots of comedy, skeleton and quips to keep the public entertained.  All the audience enjoyed the local elements which were interspersed in the story. The cast members were great at encouraging audience participation. Well done!

The curtain opened to a detailed village scene with specific buildings picked out which was well used by your players. We were transported during the performance to carefully detailed cloths which depicted a wicked forest, a well decorated palace, Oopsie Daisy’s Bloomers well stocked florist and a carefully bedecked miner’s home with lots of detailed parts. Painted flats were adorned with appropriate detail to add to the backdrops and cloths. The larger props were numerous and well-constructed. I especially liked the Magic Mirror, the cauldron with fire and all the additional items in the florist. The personal props were carefully selected and well managed by the cast members. The slosh scene in the flower shop with the watering cans was brilliant and had all the audience in stiches.

Your technical team managed the lighting and sound from a raised structure decorated with a red swag set at the back of the hall, this ensured them a clear view of the action.  There was a lighting bar positioned across the hall with various lights attached and the follow spots were situated on the raised area. Speakers were set around the hall in strategic places and located by the stage were three stand microphones which were well used by the children’s chorus. Your technicians made sure the balance between singing, text and live music was set at the correct level and the sound and stage effects used were excellent, the smoke arrived on cue and burst of flame added detail. The lighting plan had been carefully executed with more sinister dark lighting for the Queen and lighter colours used in happier times. The follow spots were well used to enhance certain moments.

You are lucky to have the services of a live quartet of drums, bass and guitar expertly directed by your Musical Director on keyboard. They accompaniment brought the large selection of musical numbers to life and were able to interact with actions during the show. Your MD had obviously taken time to ensure those involved in the musical numbers were given suitable tutelage to deliver them. The lyrics and harmonies could be heard and it was great to hear the audience participating with well know numbers. Well done.

Your choreographer and her team cleverly used the skills of those members who were involved in the various dance numbers. Those taking part knew their moves and performed them with smiles on their faces.

I have been involved with costumes for many years and I was very interested to read about the update of your costumes for Snow White and I would like to congratulate you on those that attired your players this year. Your team had obviously carefully chosen materials, fit and design as they all enhanced the casts characters. I would especially like to mention your Daisy-Maisy’s outfits they were exceptional and beautifully constructed.

Thunder rumbled in the hall and your first actor appeared melodramatically onto the stage. Queen Grizelda was attired in a black and purple sequinned dress with dramatic collar, a great wig and impressive crown and make-up. She embodied her evil character with extreme vanity, showed jealousy of her step daughter’s beauty, performed dark magic and had a wonderful singing voice. She didn’t suffer fools expected total loyalty, was determined to wed the prince and her tango would have got a ten on Strictly. Great casting.

Sparks flew the Queen froze and your beautiful dressed fairy with wings, tiara and wand appeared. Fairy Reflection spoke for the Magic Mirror but was not happy to be under the control of the Queen.  She had a brilliant off hand way of answering questions, took pleasure in keeping the Queen up to date with the events and sang tunefully.

The young actor depicting Snow White was perfect for the role. She had a positive outlook, interacted with ease with all other members of the cast and her trust in her step mother took some shaking. Her diction was very clear; she moved with ease and sang confidently. Her manner with the prince was offhand at first but ‘he did make her knees all trembly’ and unexpected she proposed in the end.

Diabolos Stumble Grizelda’s nasty henchman was the next character to arrive on the stage. ‘His’ shorter stature, dour manner and purple and black costume ensured we knew who his employer was.  ‘He’ delivered all his perturbing pronouncements from the Queen with a delighted flourish passed the blame to the monstrous, mean miserly miners. Luckily Daisy Maisy made sure he followed a better pathway.

Your next player bounced enthusiastically onto the stage, ‘he’ we soon found out was to be the hero of the tale.  ‘He’ worked in his mother’s flower shop and held a candle for Snow White. ‘He’ interacted well with all those on stage and kept the call and response with the audience going. The character created by the actor was wonderful, diction was on point, gags a plenty, energy levels high and dance and singing lovely all with a permanent smile.  It was wonderful to see that ‘his’ tenacity was able to fine out the true character of the miners, save Snow White and realise her true love.

A pantomime dame is the cornerstone of a pantomime, larger than life, physical, flamboyant, loud, wonderful comic timing with the ability to interacted with all those on stage and the audience at their own level. Add to these outrageous costumes, wigs and make up. I have watched a myriad of pantomimes over the years and your dame was outstanding. Not an action or interaction was wasted, she led from the front and brought all the rest of the cast along with her. Every word was placed, every song sung with meaning and she moved with ease. The slosh scene in the flower shop with Hugh was brilliant with the amount of water that was splashed around I’m surprised you didn’t need a longer clean up time!

Prince Harry of Helston looked just right as principal boy dressed in appropriate finery with an upright stance and superior manner. The character created was well spoken, created a connection with the principal girl and sang and danced well. ‘He’ made sure everyone knew he was very rich which didn’t bother Snow White but was why Grizelda had, unbeknown to him, decided she was going to marry him.  The subsequent storyline was great to watch.

The final players to arrive on the were the Miners all dressed in matching outfits in varying shades with their chosen tools.  Six of them marched down the central aisle and were joined by Farty on the stage. They were all very individual characters who said their text clearly and sang melodiously.  Brainy was in charge with a plan, Mouthy was as expected and liked the sound of ‘his’ voice, Farty had an unfortunate ‘gaseous’ problem, Grumpy had a scowl and pessimistic attitude, Witless tries his best, Listless who would rather be in bed and Keith. The explanation of how Keith got his name was great. They made a great team the interaction between them was brilliant as they created and followed their plans.  They presented Hugh with the gold miners’ bugle and helped to save Snow White.

It was lovely to see how much your Senior Chorus and Children’s Chorus were used as an active part of the show. It was great to see the younger members having their own special spot where they had been instructed to use the stand microphones. A performance does not only include those on stage so thanks need to go to all those behind the scenes. Many thanks for a brilliant show.

Disclaimer 

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what she sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be affected by that knowledge. 

The NODA Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular, the performance.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

 It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

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