WHEN you find yourself rooting for the villain in a pantomime, cheering instead of booing, it’s not a good sign.
In The Churchill’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I applauded with delight every time Patsy Kensit’s Wicked Queen took to the stage with another delicious plan to rid the kingdom of her nauseatingly sweet stepdaughter.
After all, the monarch seemed to have a point and when our heroine is given the kiss of life by the handsome prince, an expletive could be heard angrily passing my lips.
The fault, however, lies not with the excellent cast, Patsy Kensit in particular makes being evil look like a fabulous past time, but with the ill-conceived script, which limps to the finish line like a dwarf injured after a disgruntled rugby team lobbed him across the bar.
In an attempt to make the panto contemporary, many conventions have been lazily forgotten, with the traditional audience heckles of “It’s behind you!” and “Oh yes it is!” few and far between.
The decision to do without a dame is also to the detriment of the show and her omission means the magic potion is missing a vital ingredient.
The usual innuendo and sardonic humour which makes panto so enjoyable for adults as well is, therefore, conspicuously absent and comedy is left to Blue Peter presenter Barney Harwood as court jester Muddles.
He is stuck telling poo and fart gags, with few laughs from even the youngest audience members.
The dullest moments, however, involved the eponymous princess and her seven diminutive friends — Sarah Lark belted out soppy Disney songs and danced to Cats numbers as if she was back auditioning for I’d Do Anything.
The costumes and set may be sumptuous, but ultimately Snow White is a charmless and superficial spectacle.
In a memorable scene from the film Amadeus, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is doomed after the emperor yawns.
But he was lucky he only yawned once. Two yawns, the show would close within a week. Three yawns and it would fail the same night.
I yawned four, long times during Snow White. You do the math.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at The Churchill Theatre in Bromley until January 8. To book tickets, call 0844 8717 620 or visit ambassadortickets.com/bromley
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel