Snow White - New Wimbledon

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: by Peter Denyer & Eric Potts
New Wimbledon Theatre : 11^th Dec-20^th Jan -08
Directed by Peter Denyer
Choreography by Gerry Zuccarello
Review by Francesca Elliott

Not usually a fan of the dreaded pantomime, I was told to take my cynical hat off, stop being so miserable and get down to The New Wimbledon Theatre’s production of Snow White. As expected it was heaving with excitable children and I battled through the crowds, mentally preparing myself for the cheesy, glittering onslaught that was surely coming my way.

Sure enough, Ross ‘on gangs’ Kemp himself strutted out, and gave a surprisingly entertaining performance as the wicked Queen’s evil henchman. He minced and swaggered round the stage like there was no tomorrow, upstaged only by Rae Baker, as the glamorous, blood thirsty Queen who showed more then enough leg to keep the dads in the audience happy.

Bobby Davro was a pantomime natural as the court jester, and injected some much needed energy into scenes with Snow White (Aimie Atkinson) and Prince Charming, who gave disappointingly dull performances. But maybe that’s the curse of the pantomime goodie, forever overshadowed by the far more entertaining baddies.

The real stars of the show however were the seven real life dwarfs, led by Harry Potter star Warwick Davis, who tried in vain to keep his motley crew in order. The scenes in the sparkling mines were some of the best in the show and put some real magic into the performance.

The singing was OK and there were some talented dancers who could have been made more of.
The children seemed pleased thou and there were enough ‘grown-up’ jokes to keep the adults happy, so if you’re looking for Christmas family entertainment, Snow White might be a pretty good bet.

Photos: Top – Rae Baker (Queen). Middle – Bobby Davro (Jester) Ross Kemp (Henchman) Arvid Larsen (Muddles). Bottom: Warwick Davies (Prof)