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Transport in London (Part 1)
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Transport in London (Part 2)
Celebrating 8 years of arts-based content
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Review
★★★★
Review by Callum Stott.
"...filled with laughter, beautiful costumes, and enough innuendo to keep any adult as entertained as the children"
It is everyone’s favourite time of year as the doors of Pantoland have swung wide open to gift us with a panto treat filled with laughter, beautiful costumes, and enough innuendo to keep any adult as entertained as the children.
The King’s theatre has been a stable in Edinburgh for over 100 years with the first pantomime being performed back in 1906 with Cinderella. Since then, panto has had a very special place in the King's Theatre each festive season. Due to a renovation project currently underway within the building, this year’s panto moves to the larger Festival Theatre. With this move, the team had to create the magic of the iconic panto in a much larger space, and thankfully, they deliver in the best possible way.
This year’s production, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a lesson in how to do a panto right. Aspects of the fairy-tale and Disney film are woven into the madness of panto with the movie’s iconic songs Heigh-Ho, Whistle While You Work, and One Day My Prince Will Come, all making an appearance. The story of Snow White eating a poisoned apple is given an interesting twist, and other aspects of the plot are adjusted to fit with the panto.
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Allan Stewart returns as the iconic Nurse May bringing pure energy on stage. His version of the panto dame is becoming as iconic as the panto itself having performed in 24th pantomimes here in Edinburgh. Allan loves to have fun with the audience and puts his all into panto performing dance routines and singing fun parodies of the year’s biggest songs and you always feel in safe hands when he steps on stage.
This year, you are treated to not one but two villains in the form of Grant Stott’s Lord Lucifer and Liz Ewing’s Queen Dragonella. Grant returns for another year as the show’s main villain character him receiving many boos and hisses when he steps on stage, so many in fact that he has to get the crowd to calm down by saying “Listen, Listen” to get them back into the plot. Liz also moves away from her usual fairy godmother-type role to a more villainess character and was nice to see and she played this really well. Jordan Young also returns as the show's comic character in the form of Muddles. He is the audience’s friend throughout, and his comic talents are brilliantly shown on stage.
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You are also treated to a brilliant ensemble filled with west-end quality performers and also the incredibly talented Magnificent Seven who perform the Dwarf characters on stage. The actors are all incredibly experienced with many performing in the show, up and down the UK each Christmas. The special effects too on this show are phenomenal. The Twins FX deliver incredibly impressive set pieces including a giant dragon and a flying sleigh. The team give a real class and WOW factor to the productions that make them stand out as full-out pantomime spectaculars.
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On balance, there are a few moments within the show where scenes feel they last a little longer than they should, and also times where some parts of the show – although often amazing to watch – do not feel entirely needed, like when Snow White and the Prince sing a Christmas song which feels randomly slotted into the first act.
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Overall, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is pure gold with an incredibly talented cast, excellent special effects, and enough panto magic to make your experience at the theatre one you will remember for years to come!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until the 22nd of January 2023.
Book tickets here
