REVIEW: Snow White, Sheffield Lyceum until January 10

MARY, Joseph, baby Jesus, the Three Kings and all those shepherds are all well and good, but when you are seven years old Snow White, Nurse Nellie, Muddles and the seven dwarves can be as much a part of Christmas.

Yes, we’re in the panto season and, at the Lyceum at least, that means Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Having not visited a panto for at least 15 years I headed along to see what the pitter patter of 14 tiny feet could bring to my festive preparations.

Eighties pop princess Toyah Willcox is Snow White’s evil stepmother, Queen Ivannah, and opens the show in sinister style with a rendition of The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil.

Never realised in my youth was the presence of popular music and ever so thinly veiled adult humour in these all singing and dancing interpretations of traditional fairy tales.

The former came in the form of songs as varied as Michael Buble, AC/DC and Michael Jackson and the latter from the fabulously dressed dame, Nurse Nellie.

Played by Damian Williams and keeping the adult audience on its toes with quick humour he is the undoubted star of the show.

Only Radio Sheffield’s Toby Foster strikes a more curious figure on stage.

Playing friend of the audience and court jester, Muddles, the horse-voiced breakfast show host wins over the audience by throwing himself into his role and shows real balls (both metaphorically and literally) to emerge in an all-in-one Lycra Elvis suit, towards the end of the show, looking like a poorly filled sausage.

Kate Quinnell, as the dim-witted Snow White, makes a fitting centrepiece but the stage really comes alive when she is surrounded by her seven saviours...the dwarves.

After rescuing Snow White from the wild woods—following a failed murder attempt by an increasingly raunchy-looking Toyah—we see the band of small folk swinging from the rafters on wires, break dancing and even fire eating.

And panto veteran Bobby Knutt is on hand to give proceedings a distinctive South Yorkshire slant as The Man in the Mirror, endearing himself to Rotherham folk by describing the town as “a far off land of mystery and danger.”

In case you have grown unfamiliar with fairy tales the storyline—fairly incidental in a panto—sees Snow White banished by her jealous stepmother, nearly murdered, drugged by a poisoned apple and then revived by a kiss from Prince Charming (Andrew Alexander) before the obligatory happy ending. Sorry if I ruined it kids...

But the way of getting there takes every fun-inducing twist and turn possible on the way to big smiles and effortless enjoyment.

The sing-a-longs, “it’s behind you” moments and the disarming self deprecation of the performances mean even the adults can’t help but laugh, sing, stand up and enjoy themselves.

Since the panto appeal has remained undiminished for centuries I should never have doubted its sustained appeal but the Lyceum’s panto is more proof than I expected that it remains a worthy festive treat...for all ages.