Aberystwyth Pantomime |
| The Wardens- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , Aberystwyth Arts Centre , January 12, 2015 |
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The WardensAberystwyth Arts Centre Aberystwyth gives good Panto. For many years now, the month of January has seen Aberystwyth Arts Centre taken over by Richard Cheshire’s team of pantomime players. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs offers Aberystwyth pantomime regulars, Theresa Jones, Ioan Guile and of course Richard Cheshire doing what they do best: Jones plays the comedy castle guard with a tremendously gruesome ‘possessed face’, Ioan Guile plays the hapless henchman with naïve confusion, and Richard Cheshire dons a range of outrageous costumes to flirt with members of the audience as the Pantomime dame. All three were as excellent as always. I have not managed to attend the pantomime for a few years, so there were some faces that were unfamiliar to me, although they have graced the stage at Theatr y Werin on a number of previous occasions. Carl Ryan was deliciously camp as the Man in the Mirror, while Marcus Dobson provided some excellently choreographed comic relief as he tries to intercept Prince William’s wooing of Snow White. The stand-out performance for me by far however was Julie McNicholls as Cruella. Julie has been a pantomime regular in Aberystwyth for many years, and the fact that she has made the transition from the Good Fairy to the Pantomime Villain is testament to her versatility as an actress. Her performance as Cruella was excellent – she absolutely rocked that stage as she played a Cruella that was both megalomaniacal and vain, and simperingly sugar sweet. An innovative touch came in the form of her patronising disparagement of the audience’s boos – her disdain at our immature behaviour really was a joy – albeit a chilling one (yes, sorry, I’ll sit quietly and behave myself) to watch. The theatrical magic was excellent – the flying machines, the cauldron, the dragon, Cruella’s transformation – I really don’t know how the latter was done – absolutely brilliant. There were some cracking jokes, and some endearing ‘er…that wasn’t supposed to happen’ moments that are the ingredients of a good pantomime (Buttons is in Cinderella not Snow White. You’re thinking of Muddles) . Dame Dolly Dumplings’ costumes were a triumph – although they missed a trick with the beehive costume by not reprising the “Busy Bee, Busy Bee, what have you got in your hive for me? And then you’ll get it” gag. There were however some first night weaknesses – the chorus songs could have done with a little more oomph as the song and dance numbers were a little timid at times. However, I am sure that the cast’s confidence will grow with every performance. There were also some aspects of the narrative that did not quite fit. Herman the Henchman was meant to be a likeable character despite proclaiming at the beginning that he was an UKIP supporter. On the other hand, the very mild mannered South Walian dragon gets killed…even if it is death by Prince William’s disco sword. There were also a couple of pantomime standard features that I have missed seeing for some years now – no glass of water scene, even though the bed scene in the hotel provided an ample opportunity for that particular gag. Also, the fact that there was no principal boy role to even out the man-dressed-as-woman angle – surely you also need woman-dressed-as-man, and I still remember Theresa Jones’s very glamorous turn as Robin Hood in 2005. Next year, can we have a principal boy please? If you can get tickets, and I understand they are very scarce by now – go and see this excellent production. If you’ve already got tickets – you’re in for a cracking treat – enjoy! |
Reviewed by: Catrin Fflur Huws |
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