26th December 2022, MK Theatre
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a spell-bounding version of Snow White! The cast was amazing with Rob Rinder as The Man in the Mirror, Lesley Joseph as the Wicked Queen, Paul Chuckle as Oddjob, Aaron James as Muddles and Charlotte Haines as Snow White.
Lesley Josephs casting as the Wicked Queen was perfect. She played the role brilliantly, while sprinkling sexual innuendoes and references to Birds of a Feather!
Rob Rinder was a surprise for me. I have to admit i expected him to be a bit more strict and not as funny but he was the complete opposite and when things went wrong he was in hysterics along with the rest of the cast. He takes on the role of Judge at the end, where the Wicked Queen is put on trial for her crimes.
Unlike previous years, this version does not actually use people with dwarfism, instead using people on their knees, like Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical.
The show did follow the story of Snow White, with a few changes. At the point where Snow White usually eats the apple, the prince in this version eats the apple. The highlight of the show was the end scene of Act 1 which has OddJob on a flying motorbike, soaring over the audience. I still cant work how they do this without the audience seeing the mechanism!
The comedy is scattered through-out the show and is it main strong point. Shortly after being introduced, Oddjob and Muddles are on stage. Muddles wants to show Oddjob his singing so while off stage one of the queens maidens comes on stage and asks Oddjob about her dress. He suggests putting it on and showing him. This is where the confusion happens, so while Oddjob is singing, Muddles is giving the maid instructions like "turn around" etc which Oddjob also follows. The whole act is hysterical!
Another absolute comedy highlight was the 12 days of Christmas which involved the 4 main cast members. It started off serious but soon descended into chaos. At one point during the 5 gold rings, Lesley accidently throw the 5 toilet rolls into the audience! Aaron James seems to break character as well and embrace his comedian side and stole Lesleys wig which actually made her shout out "Aaron" while laughing.
Overall this was another amazing panto at MK theatre. The songs, cast and set all just perfect and a absolute must every christmas season! If you get a chance book tickets to see this show!
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