Lifestyle: Review – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

WELL it’s that time of year again and the Birmingham Hippodrome is back with another pantomime spectacular (oh no it isn’t….oh yes it is).

This year it’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs featuring an all-star cast including TV fashion guru Gok Wan, star of stage and screen Stephanie Beacham and panto veteran Gary Wilmot.

I must admit to being something of a pantomime cynic – all that call and response and audience interaction stuff just seemed a bit too corny to me and I’m still struggling to overcome the memories of being dragged to see pantos every year as a child which, in my memory at least, seemed to be stuffed full of the Crossroads cast.

But one thing about having small kids is that you get taken out of your comfort zone and you often find yourself going to things you wouldn’t have dreamt of attending before they were around.

Often the result is pleasantly surprising and it certainly was on Press Night at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

This show is genuinely funny. It is well-scripted, topical, addictively absurd and much of the humour is aimed squarely at the parents (in the way it is now in most of the children’s films coming out of Hollywood).

Not that there isn’t loads for the kids to enjoy, including a dragon, water spraying and plenty of slapstick humour.

What I liked about this panto was that, while the plot of the fairy tale was dutifully followed, it was in many ways secondary to what became a variety show for the stars to do their set piece routines and songs.

Gok Wan plays the Man in the Mirror and while I was unsure at first about whether he was adding much to the proceedings his infectious personality wins you over and his tendency to collapse into a fit of giggles during the interactive comedy moments is catching.

Stephanie Beacham – a woman who has acted with Marlon Brando remember – looks to be enjoying herself as Queen Sadista while John Partridge (the muscular one from EastEnders) as Prince John and Danielle Hope as Snow White cope well with the (semi) serious roles and having to keep the plot chugging along.

But it is Gary Wilmot, in drag as Mrs Nora Crumble, Paul Zerdin (accompanied by puppet friend Sam) as Muddles and Matt Slack as Oddjob who provide the bulk of the humour.

I won’t spoil things for you by talking about the show’s content except to say that there is a wonderful four-handed slapstick routine involving a frying pan and a truncheon, Brummie accents where you wouldn’t expect to find them and a fabulous tribute in song to one of Birmingham’s most famous exports.

You would need to be po-faced indeed not to come out of this show smiling. Highly recommended.

It is on at the Birmingham Hippodrome until February 2nd.