Review: Snow White – Macrobert Arts Centre

It’s Snow White Jim, but not as we know it. This pantomime take on the old Germanic fairytale begins in a convent, complete with singing nuns, and an errant panto-dame named Maria….Shut Yon Trapp (Chris Forbes). Cue a Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein and Sister Act mashup ending with a singular take on ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain from Mother Thinks She’s Superior (Kara Swinney).

It’s high-energy stuff, but this musical nunnery, like most of writer Johnny McKnight’s Snow White has nothing whatsoever to do with the original tale. Yes, there’s a heroine by name Snow White De’Wharff (Tinashe Warikandwa), and a Prince Rupert Charming-Darling (Tiger Mitchell). However the former is one of 7 children, and her wicked stepmother, The Baroness Fantasia De’Wharff (Giga Gray) is no jealous queen. Her cause for wishing her lovely stepchild dead is to bag the foppish Prince for herself, not vanity.

Do expect mind control, don’t expect a conflicted huntsman. Do expect a cheeky side-romance between Snow White’s impish sister Swanky De’Wharff (Helen McAlpine) and Swinney’s alter-ego as a linnet-voiced housekeeper but don’t expect any dwarves. The seven brothers and sisters might fill the gap nominally, but after a quick introduction, they have very little impact on the plot.

“It’s high energy stuff, but this musical nunnery, like most of writer Johnny McKnight’s Snow White has nothing whatsoever to do with the original tale.”

This radical reimagining marks a significant contrast to McKnight’s sensational take on Peter Pan, currently running at the Tron. That comedy adventure takes all the familiar parts and turns them upside down – this one jettisons most out of the nearest window accompanied by a comical ‘whee’ sound.

What remains is an affable adventure, packed with jokes, from dad to slapstick, and never more than a heartbeat away from breaking out into Madonna hits, or more recent chart offerings which the ~7-year-olds around me knew word for word.

You can’t blame McKnight and Director Julie Ellen for wanting to make use of the expansive, enthusiastic and talented young cast at their disposal. It’s wonderful to give so many a chance to cut their teeth in supporting roles as well as in the supercharged chorus line. On the other hand, it’s quite hard to buy into a central story populated by rather 2-dimensional characters.

Snow White is a ‘sassy’ lass who can’t say the word ‘love’ until her would-be Prince Charming fakes his own death. He, in turn, is a flamboyant Care Bear wandering the world with love hearts in his eyes and a coterie of worshipping admirers. Their opponent is a psychopath who traps kids in mirrors whilst bamboozling the innocent into committing murder. Panto isn’t Brecht, but such simple caricatures put incredible pressure on the dialogue to prop proceedings up.

**Production shots from Snow White – click to enlarge and for details.**

In this respect, Snow White is OK, if a little by-the-numbers: bad puns, check; sarcastic villain, check; roping in unsuspecting audience members, check; ‘Oh no you don’t!’, check. Forbes works his sparkling behind off as the show’s dame, and though completely likeable, it’s telling that he gets the biggest laughs from ad-libs. Gray scowls magnificently, but isn’t given much opportunity to terrify with a part abruptly shifts from grumpy step-parent to magically enhanced psycho killer. It’s not enough to lift Snow White above OK, but such enthusiastic performances are enough to stop it from dipping lower still.

The true strength of this production lies in its frequent song and dance extravaganzas. Supercharged with Steph Fulton’s sharp choreography and strong cast vocals, the show makes the most of its assembled talent. Alan Penman’s original compositions and smartly arranged covers are just the big, bold and vibrant accompaniment.

Look out particularly for Kara Swinney’s impressive take on Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Noting’ and expect the final notes to bring the house down. It’s not the first time she’s stunned an audience, and I doubt it will be the last.

“Forbes works his sparkling behind off as show’s dame, and though completely likeable, it’s telling that he gets the biggest laughs from ad-libs.”

In the end, Snow White is still a Macrobert panto with a big heart, and positive message just as its devoted fans have come to expect. It’s not the best panto either venue or creative team has ever staged, but it does enough to get young audiences out of their seats whether dancing or booing along. Yes, the assembled cast and creative team are capable of better, but Snow White offers plenty of tuneful Christmas cheer all the same.

All Images: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan