Review: SNOW WHITE, Airdrie Town Hall
Snow White runs at Airdrie Town Hall until 31 December
For the first time, Spillers Pantomimes and North Lanarkshire Council present their annual pantomime at Airdrie Town Hall.
In a slight twist to the usual tale, Snow White (Jenni Winter) met her Prince (Alan Mirren) the previous year but believes that he ghosted her. In actual fact, her wicked stepmother Queen Grimhilde (John McGlone) stole her phone and blocked him, leaving him unable to contact her and leaving him believing Snow White wasn’t interested.
The musical numbers are good and feature the usual chart-topping pop songs, but one particularly welcome wildcard was John McGlone’s performance of “If You Want Perfection” from Death Becomes Her. His vocals are incredible and it feels like a real tonic after a full season of “Golden” (but yes, that features too!).
At 2.5 hours, including interval, Snow White runs a little long for a panto and the first Act is very plot-heavy. At times, the pacing feels a bit off and it doesn’t always strike the right balance between storytelling and panto silliness.
Andrew Grayson is excellent as Muddles, whipping the audience up into a frenzy and ensuring that everyone gets involved. There are a couple of really clever bits of interaction with really good twists. All the usual traditions are here and the “it’s behind you” scene is very effective with quite a striking troll costume.
The supporting cast of young dancers are brilliant, and the wee ones are really given the chance to shine. There’s also a younger group of mini chefs involved who get a wonderful reception and are used with great comedic effect.
Spillers Pantomimes have put a lot into the effects and puppetry of Snow White, but the real magic of panto comes from this hard-working and talented cast.
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