Once upon a time in a lovely little fishing village called Southport, Snow White and the seven…..elves took to the stage at The Atkinson, in an all singing, all dancing spectacular pantomime.
All Souls Dramatic Club have once again taken a classic tale and added their own modern spin, bringing together a wealth of local talent and an eclectic musical score.
Writer and director Cliff Gillies, alongside choreographer Katie Palfrey and Musical Director Chris Rimmer, together are a dream team.
If anything, it was a little long, particularly the first half, this wouldn’t matter so much on a matinee, but it was a school night and I had brought along my nephew. The show opened at 7.30 and the interval didn’t happen until 8.50pm, I saw from the programme song list that a song had actually been cut too. The second half started around 9.15 and took us through until just after 10.15pm. The second half alone containing 11 songs.
Snow White in the form of a beautiful, tall and slender Kelly Kness takes us through the tale of good vs evil and the standard happily ever after that we all expect, bringing a nice energetic personality to the role not your usual sickly sweet princess.
If I was to single out every strong performer and every song we would be here forever, so I Will do my best to give you the highlights.
Not much scenery was used as the visuals were mainly electronic, the live band were visual on stage high up above the main action to either side. I always notice with this company the attention to detail with costuming and accessories, and tonight was no exception, the ensemble looked fantastic, and the energy levels and smiley faces were lovely to see.
The junior ensemble from ‘So Talented’ were very strong, beautiful dancers and adding a nice touch to the chorus scenes.
Vocally the evening was very up and down, this company is so lucky to have a variety of semi pro and ex professionals. However, some of them are so strong vocally that at times we can forget that we’re at an amateur pantomime and In comparison others cannot match up in parts. That being said they all do a great job.
A fantastic comedic cameo from Joanne Wasilew as Tiny the elf, helped along by a very witty and clever script.
Hayley Jones as the evil Lucretia was close to perfect, such a strong vocal but equally an unbelievable command for the stage in character and spoken voice. With numbers such as popular and a breathtaking rendition of the showstopper ‘Never Enough’
Ian Lawson as the king in my opinion was a little wasted in the role, he performed well but when he finally got a solo toward the end of act 2, I wished he’d had more to do throughout.
All the obvious panto elements were there,
The call and response, audience participation, the baking scene, innuendo etc etc, for me there can never be enough time with the dame, and I don’t think he had enough stage time.
The lighting design was flawless and really helped to transport us from the theatre to a land faraway, in fact in general the technical side of things was very strong.
A highlight for me was the full ensemble performing ‘Seasons of Love’ from Rent. Each holding a candle in the darkness, just lovely.
Overall, a very strong show and a fun night out for all the family.
As always, a lovely welcome form All Souls, very kind hospitality and I hope to be back next year.
The run starts 12th January, with performances also on 14th, 15th, then 19th-22nd at The Atkinson, with some matinees available. https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/events/asdc-snow-white/
Get your tickets now, don’t miss out.
Reviewer: Rebecca Casey
Reviewed: 12th January 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★