Pantomime
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
King’s, Edinburgh
Mary Brennan
FOUR STARS
Big, glossy, an all-out success – and that’s only Grant Stott in a frock as Snow White’s wicked step-mother, Queen Sadista. She’s out to steal everything from Snow White – her crown, her Prince, even her life – but will the cross-dressed baddie also steal the thunder from the King’s perennial Dame, Allan Stewart? Stewart’s Nanny May may have a smiley disposition, but when it comes to the snash and grabbing of laughs, there’s no giving of any ground. Actually, there’s no need for the gang of three – with Andy Gray’s Hector an essential part of this entertainingly eternal triangle – to play any upstaging gambits that aren’t already in the script: there’s plenty of comedy mileage for all.
However, mischievous word-play – who will trip up on the ever faster "smart fellow" exchanges? – and the drolly crafted interaction between Stewart and Gray that goes beyond words, with looks that are killingly funny, aren’t the only crowd-pleasing elements in the show. Sadista’s magic mirror that floats up from the orchestra is just one of the special effects that have all ages gasping in amazed delight. I won’t spoil the other surprises but they are, like the whole look of the production, spectacular. What of the dwarfs? A cunning costuming device has seven tall guys, led by Paul-James Corrigan’s gallus Jambo, on their knees, toddling to the aid of Frances Mayli McCann’s Snow White and her Prince (Greg Barrowman). The plot becomes more of a song and dance than a Grimm drama, but in panto terms it works a treat. Stott will get unfrocked in time for next year’s Jack and the Beanstalk.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here