| Brilliantly Coloured Sell-out Start to 2015 |
Aberystwyth Pantomime |
| The Wardens- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , Aberystwyth Arts Centre , January 16, 2015 |
The Wardens’ long-established seasonal opening to the New Year is soaked in bright primary colours. Yellow predominates, echo of the January daffodils that are in flower after 2014’s warmest year on record. The chorus of twenty plus is clothed in yellow. Marcus Dobson’s bouncing Muddles, first seen in patchwork satin, trades up too for a billowing shirt in the same colour. Richard Cheshire’s Dolly Dumplings- her last appearance as expected decked out in wedding finery- dons the costume of a king-sized golden bumblebee. The backcloths are many and sumptuous and the twenty-one scenes, across castle, village and forest, glowingly lit in Grant Barden’s lighting design. Some familiar Warders’ faces are to be seen but the company of forty-five is overwhelmingly made up of young people. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is a spectacle of cheer for which the company has been rewarded with a total ticket sell-out. Nods to topicality are wisely few. Harriet Taylor, a lustrous rich-voiced Fairy Web in diamond tiara and dress sparkling with stars, has a magical tablet to call down spells from afar. Carl Ryan’s Magic Mirror Man is an undulating figure in skin-tight silver lycra and zip-up boots. But Alice Wymer’s Snow White and Daniel Rogers’ Prince William are reassuringly traditional figures of virtue unsullied. The band under Elinor Powell’s musical direction is propelled by Rick Farrow’s dynamic drumming. It is hard to credit that the spirited sound emanating from the pit is the work of only five musicians. The nature of the Wardens’ pantomime is that stand-up gags are few and large-scale musical numbers regular and frequent. The most ecstatic is “Don’t Stop Me Now” and the most uproariously comic the five-strong version of “If I were not upon this stage/ Something else I’d like to be.” Ioan Guile’s Herman the Henchman and Theresa Jones’ Fusspot, beneath a thatch of Medusa hair, join the quintet which includes a tennis-playing Marcus Dobson, making his trademark great leaps into the air. Snow White’s saviours in the forest wear large masks. The smallest, the part shared by Adam Bradley, Lucy Baker and Heledd Mai Davies, is one of chirpy sweetness. Six delightful small blackbirds come on stage to join the “Life Could Be a Dream” number. The gang of the good is rounded out by Lowri Evans’ Bonzo. Supposedly a canine character of charm on all fours she is not averse to joining the company and proving a nifty dancer on two legs. Choreographical credits are shared by Delun Jones, Laura Smith and Carl Ryan. But good plots are made by good villains. Julie McNicholls has made the transition from long standing goody to comic stooge to outright bad ‘un in the shape of Queen Cruella. Her role is reminder too that she is possessor of a strong singing voice. Her acolytes include a robotic Ioan Guile, the result of a spell, and a lurching also spellbound trio of guards, Theresa Jones, Lynne Baker’s Moneybags and Alex Neil’s Top Notch. A twelve-foot high dragon in red is brought on to help. After a display of fiery breath Martyn Smith’s Smwg relaxes the tone with an introduction of “Shwmae. O’Right?” and a later promise “I’ll be there right now in a minute.” As for audience activity Dolly early on selects a front-row amour for special attention. The full house is enjoined to rise, turn and greet the row behind with a posh-voiced “Hellee-o, how are yew?” Crisps and sweets hurtle through the air followed by squirts from a powerful water pistol. But pantomime is never all sugar. The crone with her basket of apples of poison unnerved me a long time back. The infant squeal from the row behind is that of satisfying and unfeignedly genuine alarm. |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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