The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen Pantomime by Chris Egan was a new script based on the traditional tale.  Some extra characters had been added and the dastardly new plot twist was that the Snow Queen planned to turn the whole world to snow and ice!  With scenes moving from the Village Square to the Mayor’s Office, the Snow Queen’s Palace, the wild woods and other locations, the hall was transformed into a Winter Wonderland of icy blue, white and grey.   From the energetic opening – where it was lovely to see a Christmas tree – to the rousing finale, there were strong performances in this tale of friendship, love and life.    

The sets were simple but delightful, with only slight changes and thus freed up the stage for the energetic large cast.  Props were used effectively to emphasise the different locations such as the imposing blue throne in the Snow Queen’s Palace, trees in the Wild Wood and icicles dripping down in the Ice Cave.    There were some particularly eye catching props, the Dragon’s head was absolutely stunning – a work of art.  And the smaller props, such as the dancers’ canes were well used.    

The costumes were excellent from the dame’s bright pink bloomers, to the Mayor’s formal wear, the well- fitting tail coat for the Lord Chancellor and the  penguins and snowmen’s costumes.     The principals were all dressed in keeping with their characters but the Snow Queen’s ensemble was outstanding in design and fit.  She was a vision of loveliness in white and silver with flowing dress and boa and lots of sparkling jewels.  Ying and Yang’s fluffy onesies were a good choice for yetis!

The lighting was effective and well controlled.  There was good use of smoke for the dragon’s breath and the musical numbers were well devised and skilfully performed with lots of energy.    Most cast members delivered their lines well but some were a little quiet or too quick, making some dialogue unclear.   A few punchlines were lost, but this didn’t appear to affect the audience’s enjoyment of the production.

Vicky Rodd and her team should be enormously proud of this very polished production designed and performed with expertise.    The cast were confident and it was clear that the different age groups, including many youngsters, had fun supporting the principals.     There was much to enjoy: Ying and Yang (Emily Jordan and Belinda Hughes) had great chemistry and comic timing, The Snow Queen’s wickedness melted a little as she (Brittany Brown) belted out ‘Don’t rain on my parade’.    Charles Church as Madam Beetroot had good deadpan delivery and Greta (Lucy Walker) Olaf (Willow Wren)  and Tomas (Sian Rodd) were all bursting with energy and kept the pace going.   Emellia Black as The Snow Princess had a bright and sunny disposition.   Director Vicky Rodd and Choreographer Sian Rodd did a sterling job of ensuring that the small stage was used to the best advantage, taking into account the large cast.   All the musical numbers were first-rate but the youngers’ ensemble pieces were especially impressive – a sign of skilful direction.  The evening was an absolute joy with lots of laughter, popular and well-known songs, a few local references and a good story.   Everyone concerned should be congratulated on this happy and successful production.  

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