Review: THE SNOW QUEEN, Perth Theatre
The Snow Queen runs at Perth Theatre until 31 December
This year’s panto at Perth Theatre is The Snow Queen, written and directed by Barrie Hunter.
Best friends Gerda (Nina Gray) and McKay (Stuart Edgar) are inseparable. The pair do everything together and are rarely seen without their matching BFF hats. Surely nothing can come between them?
When Grannie Frannie McMannie (Barrie Hunter) tells them the story of The Snow Queen, it summons her. She entraps McKay and turns his heart cold, hurting everyone he loves. Lauren Ellis Steele is in equal measures evil and fabulous as the icy queen. Her musical numbers are a real highlight of the show and she’s got the evil cackle perfected.
This production gives all cast members the chance to shine. Julia Murray is wonderful as both social media-obsessed Glasgow-uni accented Gretel and reindeer herder, Herda. Ewan Somers brings a lot of laughs deluded thespian Larry and as Roger the reindeer who suffers from snow-fever.
It’s a particularly talented musical theatre cast at Perth and the musical numbers are fantastic. There are a good few pop medleys, recent smash hit singles and Gray’s “The Climb” is excellent. Hunter’s script is also brilliant and is packed with jokes that the grown-ups will love, local references and a whole lot of heart. It’s not a particularly small theatre with 500 seats but it feels quite intimate as the audience are able to join in with the interactive parts. One particularly heartfelt heckle aimed at The Snow Queen from a young audience member was “YOU’RE NOT NICE!”.
Becky Minto has designed the most impressive costumes in all of the pantosphere this year. Grannie’s costumes in particular cause genuine jaw drops.
The relationship between Gerda and McKay is beautifully portrayed by Nina Gray and Stuart Edgar- to the point that it’s genuinely a wee bit distressing when McKay turns on her. The message at the heart of this panto is love and friendship and this is conveyed brilliantly.
The Snow Queen at Perth Theatre has all of the markings of a traditional panto with a whole heap of originality thrown in. This is everything a pantomime should be and it's clear the cast are having a wonderful time with it. An absolute joy to watch.
Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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