Review: Snow White

Christmas pantomimes can provoke chills in any serious drama lover. They have a reputation for being tacky, obvious and poorly performed – great fun, but only if you’re five. It was a surprise, then, to find myself really enjoying the Byre Theatre’s production of Snow White.

All the normal pantomime traditions were there; we hissed and booed, called out “She’s behind you!” and questioned gender identity along with the dame (Nanny Ticklepenny, played by Alan Steele). If you don’t like audience participation, you’d hate this play. But the pantomime broke tradition too, and this was really exciting. There was nothing damsel-in-distress about Snow White (Stephanie McGregor); she was, from the start, the clever, sassy hero of the piece. In fact, the entire story was rewritten so that she ended up saving the day. The red apple didn’t even appear until far into the second half, and then with surprising results. This feminist direction isn’t new, but all the same there’s something refreshing about such retelling of fairy tales.

Although obviously designed for children, the script was sophisticated, with funny, occasionally even risqué, jokes. There were moments of serious cheese, but given the medium, this is only to be expected. Although not all of the acting was amazing, there were some stand-out performances, such as from Mirabelle (the Magic Mirror, played by Lynne Jenkinson) and the wicked Queen Lucretia (Gillian Ford). Snow White was also very good.

The show was full of songs, and this was a bright touch. It was a shame that none of the cast could really sing (Ford wasn’t bad), or dance, and the harmonies were painful, but the charming mix of show tunes and radio hits was well received all the same. There were young children cast as a few of the minor roles, and their performances were stunning given their age. The stage was well-designed and the tech was handled expertly – it is perhaps the first Byre musical I’ve seen where the mics didn’t crackle.

In short, this was a brilliant pantomime, by far the best I have seen for many years (not that I frequent them). It wasn’t Shakespeare, and you shouldn’t expect a dramatic reinvention of the genre; but Snow White was a refreshing, high-quality update to a stale and clichéd format which was surprisingly fun to watch. Grab some friends and go see it; it’ll make your Christmas that little bit merrier.

Snow White will remain at the Byre until December 30th, showing at 10am, 2pm and 10pm for £15.