With a star studded line-up and the promise of reviving childhood memories, I had high expectations of this year’s pantomime.
With a star studded line-up and the promise of reviving childhood memories, I had high expectations of this year’s pantomime: New Wimbledon Theatre’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Waiting for the show to begin, I was struck by the impressive set and felt sorry for whoever was in charge of glitter. It certainly added to the Christmas buzz of the audience and you could tell there had been a lot of attention given to the production element with the dwarfs’ house being particularly charming.
No doubt, the older members of the audience were itching to catch a glimpse of The Wicked Queen, and star of the show, Priscilla Presley, famous for becoming the wife of the King of Rock’n’Roll.
With her bat-wings, devil horns, fiery red dress and a slit that was almost too revealing, it is really quite hard to believe the former Dallas star is 67.
Admittedly Ms Presley looked somewhat uncomfortable telling jokes at times, especially as it was apparent that she did not know much about the area she was cracking jokes about.
Her most memorable moment was the ghoul scene when the children finally got to shout ‘she’s behind you’. Swinging back and forth on two wires made her look a bit like a displaced angel looking for the top of the Christmas tree rather than someone to be scared of, but nevertheless the audience seemed delighted.
One of the best performances of the night went to the appropriately-named Jarred Christmas, playing Herman the Henchman.
Mr Christmas dominated throughout and his talent as a comedian was played upon at every turn. Some jokes were a little forced but most worked well and he brought plenty of energy to the scenes with Ms Presley.
However, my favourites by far were the seven dwarfs. Warwick Davis led the ensemble of Grumbly, Blusher, Snoozy, Loopy, Sniffley and Cheeky flawlessly and their renditions of ‘Whistle While You Work’ and ‘Heigh Ho’ had the audience mesmerised.
Although, a bit confused by their names at first, the dwarfs merged tradition with modernity brilliantly and went off the scale for comedy with Davis leading a cast dance to Gangnam Style for the show’s twist on BGT: ‘Moravia’s Got Talent’.
I also could not fault the Villagers and the Juvenile Ensemble whose performances were watertight and added vitality and an extra dimension to the pantomime as a whole.
Their performances as forest animals were particularly enchanting and the costumes simply breathtaking.
I must admit I was slightly disappointed by the interactive magic mirror whose embodiment of a friendly, tea-drinking wizard didn’t give any sense of omnipotence and whose voice didn’t exactly match the animation at times.
The special effects certainly made up for any downfalls and the musicians did themselves proud, especially with the varied mix of old and new tracks they had to play.
Overall, the children loved it and by the finale I had been converted. The intimate moment of the Prince kissing Snow White was hilariously narrated by an outburst from one child who said: “that’s disgusting!” and it reminded me why pantomime is still so magical for the majority of children at this time of year.
So if you’re looking for a feel-good festive treat for all the family, this will definitely tick the magical boxes.
The show will run until Sunday January 13 2013.
Tickets range from £10 – £29.50 with premium seats also available.
To book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/wimbledon or call 0844 871 7646.
For group bookings call 0844 871 7696 or 0844 871 7677 for access tickets.
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