REVIEW: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Rotherham Civic

Queen Scowlalot plots the downfall of her stepdaughter, Snow White, who - according to the magic mirror - is the fairest in the land, as she tries to win the heart of Prince McCharming and take over the kingdom in this fun-filled production.

Emily Falkner plays Snow White with the right amount of charm, Lee Docherty sends himself up wonderfully as the dashing prince and Luke David Martin gets the kids on side as Muddles.

But the standout performances from the cast belong to Bethany Alice Whitley as Queen Scowlalot, who revels in her deliciously camp performance, and to Robert Forknall as Dame Dotty Doughnut who plays the role with a straight bat and is delightful and incredibly funny.

There’s plenty of musical numbers too, with the professional cast supported by teams of incredibly talented young local performers who dance their way through the upbeat and well-choreographed routines.

For this performance it was the blue team wowing the audience, but I am positive that the rest of the teams will get their chance to shine just as brightly over the course of the run.

You can tick off the pantomime traditions as they roll in, including the gunge tank, a madcap sidekick, water pistols, lots of audience participation, the ghost bench and a few surprises along the way.

Some of the funniest gags were a randomly placed, well known TV advert, a rather chaotic version of the Twelve Days of Christmas and a scene involving a pair of headphones and a handful of well-known songs.

There are plenty of jokes to keep the kids amused and some which are aimed squarely at the adults, and there’s lots of laughs to be had.

The show really hits its stride in the second act, and we left the theatre with a big smile on our faces and feeling very festive indeed.

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs is at the Rotherham Civic Theatre until Sunday, January 4 2026.

To book visit www.rotherhamtheatres.co.uk/about/snow-white/ or call 01709 823621.