Sheffield Lyceum’s pantomime ‘Snow White’ proves once again that this art form is going nowhere and is truly generational fun. It is expectedly raucous, fun, well spirited, cheeky and great family entertainment for all.
Damian Williams, yet again, is excellent in his role as Nurse Nellie, and as he seemingly does every year reaffirms himself as panto royalty. His charismatic performance, witty off-cuff asides, facial contortions and vocal bombasticity palette this colourful world aptly. Likewise, there were some joyful and committed performances from The Seven, with Hassan Taj as Loopy a particular delight.
Catherine Tyldesley was a sound choice for the evil Queen of this fairytale land, who possesses the appropriately scathing voice and demeanour, and notably one of the most incredulous yet best evil laughs I’ve heard for a long time. Also, a highlight was the musical number ‘I Will Survive’ which saw Tyldesley suspended high from the ceiling in what was really quite remarkable stage work, all smoke and mirrors but no bull – it was a magical set piece pulled off impressively.
George Akid’s Muddles was warm and playful, but tonally felt like a cog jammed into a different machine. The sardonic wry humour of panto comics was swallowed by Williams’ Dame, yet likewise so were the knee-slapping court jester hijinks. I feel the apparatus of the show gave Akid a hard job of it. Williams’ huge performance occupied much of what may usually have been Muggles territory and rendered the character (not the performance, to Akid’s credit), almost redundant. And although the Yorkshire native’s performance offers enough to put a smile on faces, Muddles does feel somewhat overcrowded and thus the performance slightly confused.
Perhaps traditionally the character of Herman the Henchman (Marc Pickering) would’ve been a more comedic but malevolent force, however in this again the role intrudes on the classic Muddles space but not to the detriment of the work, as Pickering’s performance is ridiculously humorous, and proved a strong favourite among the younger audiences (whilst still admired by their older counterparts).
Quang ‘Viper’ Luong was an appreciated addition, with the cast impressively bouncing off the Gladiator’s reclusive, closed-off yet intimidating demeanour, playing this to great laughs. Matthew Croke’s Prince Charming was suitably pompous yet sincere, and a good match for Aofie Kenny’s Snow White, who was delicate, warm and light. The duo shared a great musical number with woodland creatures of the magical land (shout out to the costume department here, who really brought the world to life with their work) which had audiences locked in and carted away with our protagonistic lovers. Alan Carr’s appearance, in aid of Neuroblastoma UK, is also a welcome presence.
It’s classic panto with appropriately modern twists – whether it’s the use of brain-rot language for the TikTok generation or utilising live stream cameras to infuse the audience with the dread participatory sense of doom, Sheffield’s panto this year is as good as you’ll get anywhere on these isles. Running until Sunday 5th January 2025, https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/
Reviewer: Louis Thompson
Reviewed: 10th December 2025
North West End UK Rating: