The Snow Queen

Once again, LIDOS has caught the mood of its audiences and presented a totally different pantomime to delight all age groups - this was a modern panto, one I had not heard of before and hope it will be taken up by other groups wanting a change from the usual!

Taken from the Hans Andersen fairytale, the show began with Hans himself writing the story in old Copenhagen and opening onto a street scene, where all the characters introduced themselves. We had pretty Gerda, her cousin, Helmut and Gerda's boyfriend, Kai all living in a poor cottage with Grandma, known as 'Granny Fanny Annie' - all these characters were played with gusto and verve - all was well until the Snow Queen decided to spirit poor Kai away to the frozen north and her ice palace - here we had a glamorously wicked Queen in every sense - the script gave her plenty of interaction with the audience, warning us of global warming, so that she could take over the world, but she was thwarted by a pleasing fairy Snowdrop. Although the cast was smaller than normal, it did give a chance for individual members to share the spotlight and this they did very well.

The Director, Jane Ellaway, made sure that every joke and aside was delivered in true pantomime fashion - the key with pantomime is to get the audience on your side right from the start - her cast made the most of the dialogue, to great amusement from the audience. The Musical Director, Wil Jones, had chosen some really modern songs for principals and chorus - these were sung very well by all the cast. The choreography was, as usual, of a very high standard (Emma Tempest and Donna Wells) - I especially liked the UV ballet with twinkling light costumes, very effective. As always, much thought had been put into the sets and costumes which did much to enhance the wonderfully quirky characters who supported the main principalsd. The sets and backcloths were extremely well chosen; Paul Myers (Stage Manager) and his team on top form, as ever. I am always impressed by the make-up skills provided by the students from the City of Leeds College.

A fabulous evening's entertainment and a credit to the whole company!

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