This was my very first pantomime that I have seen and it definitely lived up to all expectations.
The set design was really beautiful, making it feel like a fairy-tale, and the characters costumes were as gorgeous as you would expect from pantoland. All was given that special feeling by lighting designer Chris Davey.
I really enjoyed that the actors didn’t take themselves too seriously and had a lot of fun on stage which made the production really enjoyable. There were many jokes but perhaps too many the children wouldn’t understand although it was good fun the adults. All the Welsh jokes were appreciated by the audience.
Mike Doyle
Samantha Womack
I really appreciated that in the production, unlike the actual fairy tale, the story did not only revolve around Snow White and we saw a lot more of other fantasy characters such a Queen Lucretia, Alfie the Henchman, and the Prince (Prince Chico), and panto has to have the Dame and comic, here Dame Betty Blumenthal and her son Muddles.
The new introduced character Muddles, played by Tam Ryan, was a hilarious character, constantly making jokes and entertaining the crowd, along with his mother Dame Betty Blumenthal who was played by Mike Doyle. They were my favourite pair, and although these are not in either the Grimm or famous Disney versions they did make the show extremely entertaining for the adults in the audience as well as making some jokes for the children.
The main character of Snow White was played by Stephanie Webber and she was just as sweet as in the cartoon, she sang beautifully and moved around the stage so gracefully and elegantly. Queen Lucretia was acted by Samantha Womack who is very well-known from her role of Ronnie Mitchell in BBC’s EastEnder’s, she played her part very well, being probably my favourite of them all, with very dark jokes and brilliant wit.
This is a must-see this Christmas.
New Theatre, Cardiff until January 14, 2018
http://www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/what’s-on/snow-white/
Sanaz Safari is a member of the Cardiff West Community High School Stage and Screen group which is supported by Wales Critics Fund