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A vintage case of panto spirit
Snow White, Eloise Irving, nose a thing or two about Sniffy, one of the seven dwarfs living in their cottage in the woods Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Wolverhampton Grand ***** IF you are
looking for a traditional, magical panto for kids and grannies, mums who
like a bit of romance and dads who enjoy a good laugh then look no
further. This is the best panto I have seen in ages. It is
slick, lively, easy on the eye and above all it is genuinely funny. It
is a panto that takes me back to my youth – and that is both a long time
and a feat of memory – an entertaining, friendly, family show with a
genuine feel-good factor – and don't forget the laughs, thanks mainly to
The Grumbleweeds. The Grumbleweeds, who have morphed into the
Yorkshire double act of Graham Walker, who plays Odd Job, and Robin
Colvill, as Muddles, knock up 50 years in the business next year and
they use every minute of that experience to produce a masterclass in
comedy ranging from the very daft to the gloriously funny. More than
once the audience was helpless with laughter. In Linda Lusardi the panto had a deliciously
wicked baddie in Queen Lucretia, a rather unfortunate choice of name
perhaps for those who know their Shakespeare or Britten. Th She plays to the audience beautifully, collecting
boos and catcalls with avid delight, flouncing around the stage like a
devilish diva. Snow White, Eloise Irving, looks pretty and sings
beautifully and also unwittingly manages one of those wonderful theatre
moments. Snow White askes the audience if she should take a bite out of
the apple offered by the nice old lady who is really the wicked old
queen. “No!” scream the audience with a few “it's
poisoned”s thrown in. Why she asks we will never know as the plot hits
the buffers if she doesn't bite the apple, which obviously she does and
swoons into her death like state only for some young lad in the circle,
who had really got into the story, to shout out knowingly “Told you!”. Helping out old Snow White in her hour of need is
our own Niki Evans and her wonderful voice as Fairy Loreelei. She
is making Christmas fairy at the Grand a habit with her second
appearance with her wand in three years. The hero of the whole thing is Prince William of
Wednesbury, played by the panto's director Sam Kane, who, if you didn't
know already is married to Linda Lusardi. His first appearance, with his guards in the town
square, could have come from any light opera, real Student Prince stuff,
which is a few notches up on the sophistication scale in pantoland. He has an opportunity in this show afforded to
few men – he can actually slag off his missus, in public, and even get
1,200 people to laugh at her, and not find himself singing soprano, with
eyes watering, within minutes of getting home. He brings an easy charm, and a fine voice to the
role and his direction keeps up a cracking pace with a nice balance
between the singing, dancing and romance – the bits where kids turn to
light up wands and spinners – and the plot and comedy.
The panto benefits from not relying too much on
special effects although the queen zooming out high over the audience on
her broomstick is impressive and highly effective. I won't tell you how
it is done you can work that out for yourself – but it doesn't involve
wires. The mirror, mirror on the wall is also effective
as a descending video screen. The show has plenty of oh no it isn'ts, a couple
of panto standards, the ghost and the bench routine for instance, and a
very funny 12 Days of Christmas with Kane, Lusardi and The Grumbleweeds,
which involved toilet rolls accidentally taking out members of the
audience and a happy ending. What more can you ask for? Snow White has two teams from the Classic Academy
of Dance in Willenhall who provide the children of the kingdom as well
as cut furry animals in the forest and there are also two teams of
dwarfs in very Disneyesque costumes who mime excellently to recorded
voices. Add a four boy, four girl ensemble of dancers and
chorus, colourful sets and costumes and you have all the ingredients for
an excellent panto. When I spoke to Sam back in the summer he saw
panto as one of the most important shows a theatre could put on. From a theatre's point of view it is often the
difference between a comfortable profit and a struggle for the next 12
months with many theatres taking up to 20-25 per cent of their annual
income from a successful panto run. But Sam, seen below as Prince William of
Wednesbury, was looking way beyond the columns of a theatre's balance
sheet to the future of theatre itself.
Produced by Qdos Entertainment under musical
direction by David Lane Snow White runs until 22-01-12. Roger Clarke And look out behind you . . . *** THIS will not be the biggest pantomime in
the Midlands, and it may not be the best, but it's good, honest family
entertainment with a traditional feel about it. Husband and wife team Sam Kane and Linda Lusardi
(she of Page 3 fame) top the bill and look great, but those showbiz
survivors, The Grumbleweeds, really dominate proceedings, and customers
young and old love them. Robin Colvill (Muddles) and his partner Graham
Walker (Oddjob) deliver gags – young and old – with consummate skill but
at times you wonder if they are in the limelight a little too much. This panto hasn't gone for the spectacular
effects and – call me Scrooge if you will – I didn't think it was as
good as past Christmas shows at the Grand. Before anyone calls out
‘Oh yes it is', my grandchildren agreed with that assessment. The only catch-your-breath scene is when lovely
Linda, playing the nasty Queen Lucretia, flies above stage on a
broomstick. Handsome Sam Kane, who also produces the panto,
sang well in his role as Prince William of Wednesbury, and Nikki Evans,
of X Factor fame, revealed a splendid voice as the kindly Fairy Loreelei. Eloise Irving is the attractive Princess Snow
White, and two teams of children, wearing false heads, play the dwarfs
with an endearing confidence. Jon Conway is executive producer and David Lane
musical director. To 22.01.12 Paul Marston
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Panto
is often the first show a child sees at the theatre – get it wrong and
they can be lost for ever. Show them a glimpse of the magic of theatre
and they will be back for more – and this show is magic from beginning
to singalong end.