Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Worcester Rep

Swan Theatre

****

Mince pies, mulled wine, tinsel and pantomimes – the Christmas season is in full flow. Worcester Repertory Company’s energetic and spirited production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has opened with lots of gusto and good humour.

This is traditional pantomime which serves all the conventional elements and ticks all the right boxes. The fairy godmother, the corny jokes, the evil queen, the romantic youths – all the elements are there with lavish colour, songs and dances.

Ben Humphrey has been multi-tasking as never before. Writing, directing, producing, acting and voice-overs, he has put together a lovely show. The young dancers from Academy Theatre Arts combine with the Adult Dancers to reveal Helen Leek’s huge talent as a choreographer. The variety and elements of humour conveyed through the dancers adds to this imaginative production.

John-Robert Partridge is the evil Queen Griselda. He achieves a balance of threat without terrifying the younger elements in the audience, who can enjoy the sport of ‘booing’ to their hearts content. Geneviève Lowe and Tom Riddell deliver the young charming couple – Snow White and Harry the ‘Huntsman’ – with innocence and charm.

The talented Heidi Gowthorpe is the magical Fairy Fabulous who skilfully delivers her rhyming narrative and ensures evil does not triumph in the end.

snow white cast

The comedy of the show relies greatly on the jolly duo of Muddles and Dame Ginny. Muddles, played by Oliver Brooks, is big and cuddly as well as muddled. Dame Ginny is Ben Humphrey’s opportunity to engage with the audience as he best knows how, embarrassing one or two, and improvising his way along with infectious humour.

Will Williams plays Prince Edmund, a rival suitor to Snow White, and Charlie Ryan is a lively and energetic Herman the Henchman who is ultimately Herman the ‘hero’, as one young audience member shouts near the end!

‘Uncle Rick’, Rick Godsall and his fellow musicians provide the lively and pacy music, (keyboard, bass and percussion), which adds energy to the performance, as do the very colourful lighting and the bright and tastefully coordinated costumes.

One distinctive and charming feature of the shows at the Swan Theatre is the addition of tHe UV scene which is intriguing and skilfully executed.

The magic of the mirror which is crucial to the plot of Snow White is cleverly managed with a combination of AV screens (Jack Coleman) and the voice of the Swan’s most famous patron, Imelda Staunton, a one-time actor on the Swan stage.

Last night the production was brought to an abrupt conclusion as the show was about to conclude by an electrical power cut in the area. The emergency was managed with great professionalism by the company and nobody panicked.

Altogether this is a delightful family show for all ages. There are plenty of performances for school parties in the next few days, thereafter the families of Worcestershire will be charmed, entertained and delighted by this excellent and balanced production. To 05-01-20,

Tim Crow

06-12-19 

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