Panto is a tricky beast to get right. Audiences come armed with expectations of organized chaos, cheesy jokes and lots of interaction. City Theatre have aimed to turn the formula a little bit on its head, modernizing the tale of Snow White (played by Molly Riley) and bringing it away from some unknown Fairy Tale kingdom, into the heart of Liverpool.
City Theatre’s ethos is about opportunity for those with a passion for performing arts to have a space to develop their ability and confidence. This is evident in the show as we certainly have heaps of enthusiasm but a bit of a mixed bag in performance craft.
Strong turns come from Elisha Mai Curry as Fairy Hope, with her powerhouse vocals, an energetic Denise Collins as Billy Shine and a warm, charming Lucy Walters as the ironically depressed Happy.
There is also a nice camaraderie between Johnny Sedgwick-Davies as the panto simpleton, Buster and his world-weary mother Dame QE2, portrayed by Graham Lyne. In true panto style, the pair’s strongest moments come when they’re forced off script by any technical errors or fluffed lines and the audience laps it all up in good humour.
Barry Levy has given the cast a good script, with some jokes landing better than others, and local references go down a storm. One feels that there is more opportunity to go a little ‘off piste’, especially for the panto dame, rather than sticking quite so rigidly to the script.
The musical numbers are a little hit and miss due to mixed vocal ability in the cast. A little tightening up on the choreography would be good too as some cast members don’t seem sure of their moves. But they still land an excellent Act 2 intro to The Greatest Show and Happy’s rendition of ‘People are Strange’ is very enjoyable.
There is an unexpectedly poignant moment right at the end of the show with Snow White’s best friend Will Grimm, played by Sam Jones. Costumes are well thought through to reflect the modern stylings of the show.
The most important aspect though is that audience and cast have clearly enjoyed themselves. They join in with the usual cries of ‘It’s behind you’ and ‘oh no it isn’t’ when they should and greet the songs and dances with rapturous applause.
It’s been a refreshing take on the classic panto and all the ingredients are there. A little bit more practice in some of the more unique elements of panto for future turns should lead to something quite special.
Reviewer: Lou Steggals
Reviewed: 8th December 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★