Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown at the Kings Head theatre in London (online) streams to our homes this month in time for Christmas.
Put together by the Charles Court Opera, they throw a romping frolic through the tulips of fun with bawdy humour and all the ingredients of a great traditional pantomime with a boutique vibe, plenty of zany antics and a shake up of the usual panto story.
There couldn’t be any better tonic for this year. Bright stylish costumes, bold characters with a swap of gender roles, Snow White is played in baseball boots by John Savournin who also wrote the hilarious script.
The Wicked Queen is played sumptuously evil by Jennie Jacobs, it’s impossible to tell her age but she has a fantastic stage presence, her costume is amazing with a huge white fur collar and a crown. She consults a mirror as in the real story.
The Prince and his valet are delightful dressed in fabulous lycra tights and moving in the most camp souped up way imaginable. They sing and prance with vigour and are sensational to watch. Emily Cairns and Meriel Cunningham take these roles.
What is great is the fast paced zaniness, the good humour of it all, sending up the lockdown in the funniest way possible. Also, the interactive choice made it fun, it’s not easy to keep a show’s va va voom online but they did a great job. The scenery is bright offbeat and straight out of a story book.
The singing was fantastic and all kudos to them for this online version it really came alive with their witty takes on some well known songs.
It was unique that the seven dwarfs were played by one man Matthew Kellet- this brought a good deal of joke opportunities, particularly with their names, Half-baked and Crabby are two – brilliant. He interacts wonderfully with Snow White.
Due to the interactive nature of the show, it gives an edge when it comes to the storyline and you genuinely wonder what will happen next. There were two versions of the show – Adult and Family. Opting for Adult it was perhaps a little more sweary and no holes barred. It did veer off even more strangely with a funeral for a dwarf and a plastic Covid friendly sheet being applied in order to kiss the Prince. Points for innovation.
All in all the Charles Court Opera did a flawless performance with full marks for detail in costumes, scenery, energy and musicality. Of course, we would rather see it live but it came close to recreating a live feel. https://www.kingsheadtheatre.com/
Reviewer: Rachel Foster
Reviewed: 15th December 2020
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★