Snow White and the 7 Dwarves

 

The BEST advert for live theatre, pantomime and the North East

The annual tradition of Pantomime was sadly missing last year so we've been 2 years without our fix, but if  it's possible to turn the dial up to 12 on madcap humour, double the feel good factor and raise to the power 2 the fun and enjoyment then the Theatre Royal have managed it with aplomb.  

This year's offering, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves from Crossroads Pantomimes and written, produced and directed by Michael Harrison should go down in history as possibly one of the greatest pantomimes of all times - packed to the gills with laughs (on all levels) stunning costumes, amazing singing and oodles of chaos, everyone was left in tears of joy, be they 4 or 84.

The stalwart characters of Snow White (Kirsty Ingram), Prince William (Wayne Smith), evil Queen Dragonella (Chris Hayward) and dame Nelly Nightnurse (Steve Arnott) are the perfect foundation upon which to build the panto - they are the dreamers of dreams and the tellers of tales and it is through them, ably assisted by the Magnificent Seven (Josh Bennet, Simeon Dyer, Scott English, Jamie John, Blake Isle, Andrew Martin and Fergus Rattigan) that the good versus evil fairy tale is delivered.

Adding in an extra depth is the Man in the Mirror (Joe McElderry) and the Spirit of Pantomime (Carole Stennett).  Carole lifts the usual 'Fairy Godmother' type role embracing the whole of Panto Land and serving some timely comfort that what we have missed over the past 18 months is now back again.  I will admit, this is my first time seeing Joe live and I was blown away by his amazing voice and stage presence - so at ease within the role, very happy to be the target of some jokes and able to go toe to toe with the evil Queen.  

Of course, anyone who has been to a Theatre Royal panto over the past 16 years will know that the USP - the Unique Silliness Parts come from Danny Adams (Danny the Court Jester) and Clive Webb (Oddjob) - these 2 are panto perfection pas compare, undoubtedly the best in the country for madcap anarchy and rib-aching routines.  Clive, an accomplished magician, writer and the brains behind the duo is the straight guy to Danny's Tasmanian Devil.  

Danny, a cross between Lee Evans and Norman Wisdom, gets better every year which is saying something because he was brilliant when I 1st saw him 11 years ago - his timing, physical comedy, non-stop goofing and hilarious voices suggest an out of control performer but this couldn't be any farther from the truth - the dedication and devotion to his craft make him unparalleled in modern day comedy theatre.  Whilst he shoots out jokes and quips in a seemingly random fashion he knows exactly where he wants them to land - daft and silly are pitched straight to the kids, risque and very near the knuckle go over their heads and smack into the adults, leaving many in tears of laughter while nervously glancing at their young guests and hoping they aren't asked to explain why it is so funny.

The 3rd wheel to the zany gang is Mick Potts, cruelly playing The Idiot - Mick is as much a part of the madness and ensures that both Danny & Clive have an extra stooge off which to bounce.

Packed with pyrotechnics, amazing lighting and some truly brilliant flying sequences (for which I will offer no spoilers) the whole production is a triumph and one everyone should feel mighty proud of.

If you can only choose one pantomime this season then I suggest, nay insist, this should be it - oh yes I do !

Snow White at Darlington Hippodrome

Great songs, wonderful sets and a flying wicked queen – the only thing green about this show will be the envy of people who don’t go and see it.

It's funny how some traditions live long and strong, year after year.  Take Panto season, which is here again (oh yes it is); the usually demure and sedate theatre-going audiences are suddenly turned into, and accompanied by, screaming kids sporting all manner of flashing appendages; the knowing whispers when an actor misses a line are swapped for roars of laugher both on & off the stage and the 4th wall is torn down and ceremoniously trampled on as young and old are encouraged to great the cast with cheers, boos, chants and giggles.  That tradition is constantly reinforced by the production company Qdos who bring glitz, glamour, sparkles and no shortage of special effects back to Darlington.

This years offering at the newly reopened Hippodrome is the first major production to grace the refurbished theatre and give the seats, sound system and stage hands a really good workout.  With Snow White the chosen story, the traditional formula for panto is very well observed; plenty of goading the younger audience into shouts & screams, the singling out of a few teachers to make the next school dinner a constant source of amusement and of course, a liberal smattering of double entendres to ensure the adults can laugh along, tho not always at the reasons the kids believe.

On a stage of many stars Zoe Birkett (born like yours truly in Consett) dominates every scene she’s in – its been a long time since we had to knowingly share ‘our’ Zoe with the rest of the UK but each time she comes home she brings such energy, fun and enthusiasm that it’s like recharging the pride batteries.  

For this performance as the Wicked Queen she has

the opportunity to give us a full appreciation of all her talents, ending the 1^st act with her rendition of Queen of the Night which sounded and felt like Tina Turner in the Who musical Tommy (bit of an odd reference, but anyone who has watched the Ken Russell rock opera will surely appreciate the similarities) - when Zoe ‘brings it’ she brings it all, leaving you wondering how can someone soo good be soo deliciously bad ?

Continuing the time honoured traditions, the comedy double act of Eric Potts (a madcap dame to rival Christopher Biggins as Mrs Norah Crumble with an extensive range in baking ) and Liam Mellor (the daft as a brush Muddles) guarantee bucketfulls of slapstick comedy, laugh out loud routines and just plain old ‘forget your inhibitions’ silliness.  Bizarrely, they even occasionally manage to out-funny stand-up superstar Patrick Monahan, the not so evil queens henchman (tho if you want to get an extra session of Patrick then check out Bishop Auckland Town Hall comedy night on Fri 22^nd).  The funniest (and yet possibly scariest for the 3 guys) scene must be the discussion around how best to prepare the game bird for the royal dinner – I won’t spoil anything here, but the script writers certainly knew how to ensure the cast didn’t dare have a nip of something before a show.

The starring role of Prince Lee is played admirably by Lee Ryan, with plenty of energy and a great voice, he quickly identified with the dabbing youngsters in the audience (and a few of their mums too).  Full of very cleverly written songs (especially the ‘Darlo’ opening number ) and plenty of in jokes about the town and our neighbours, this had a very local feel which, with along with Zoe et al, ensured that whilst the deco might be new and the layout slightly different, the New Hippodrome still feels like home.

Panto is a very English form of theatre - many of my foreign friends just don't know how to approach one and consequently they struggle to accept the 'anarchy' that ensues, but that's what this tradition is all about - forget the quintessential British reservedness and grant yourself one evening of self indulgent silliness - if laughter is the best medicine then Darlington Hippodrome audiences will be the healthiest in all the land.