Review by Paul Towers, 29/11//24
Snow White by Morgan Brind
Directed by Morgan Brind
Produced by Little Wolf Entertainment
At Loughborough Town Hall until Sunday 5th
January 2025
This years offering at Loughborough Town Hall
is another Little Wolf triumph. Their Snow White is the most traditional of
pantomimes with goodies and baddies enough to boo, hiss and cheer right from
the start.
The tone of the show is set right from the
beginning when Queen Nocturna (Cara Dudgeon) spits her venom on the audience
and pulls off a fabulous stooge gag. Snow White (Emma Robertson) is saccharine
goodness personified as she is banished from court by the wicked queen who
covets her inheritance. It is only through the squeamishness of vegan Hamish
The Huntsman (Stuart Turner) that she escapes having her heart ripped out (a
nice bit of horror for the kiddies!).
Alone in the woods she stumbles upon the
house of seven banished diamond miners (cue predictable gags about Maggie
shutting the mines). Normally the dwarves would be played by children or even,
budget permitting, actual dwarves. But in this case they are cleverly played by
puppets. These are so innovative as have to be seen to be believed. There are
also some traditional woodland animals played by the junior team members.
Of course every panto has to have a Dame and
Snow White has a master (mistress?) of the art in Matthew Siveter’s Dame Cilla
Bang (geddit?) who is ably assisted by Keanu Leaves (Elliot Coombe) as the
Buttons-esque junior idiot.
For some romantic interest for Snow White
there is Prince Rupert (Ben
Williamson-Jones), thick as mince and far too nice for his own good.
So there we have the headline characters and
all the elements of a traditional pantomime are ready and waiting. These
elements then have to have a good script too hang them on and Morgan Brind’s is
a cracker. Whip sharp and right up to date without losing any of the story.
There is slapstick, messy routines and great prop routines. Everything you
could ask for. Both adults and children in the audience were howling with
laughter. Which is as it should be.
Snow White runs at Loughborough Town Hall
until 5th January 2025
https://www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk/
https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/
