Hellooo! It may be nearing the end of April but it's it is finally time for my panto review! Way back in December, I went over to Manchester with my bestie Lyndsey to see a couple of shows! The first one we saw was Six and you can read my review of that show here, spoiler alert - it was AMAZING! The next day, the 15th December, we went to the Manchester Opera House to see their pantomime, Snow White! We were sat in seats E 21 and 22 in the stalls and the tickets were £42 each, which came to £93.15 in total for both tickets, including fees. We had a perfect view of the stage and it was a great seat! I also grabbed a programme for £5 while we were there!
I had been to one Qdos pantomime before, which was Cinderella at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford so I knew that Snow White was going to be a spectacle! The show was filled with special effects that wowed the audience from start to finish. I loved the costumes and in particular, those worn by Craig Revel Horwood as Queen Lucretia and Eric Potts as Dame Nora Crumble! I also loved the choreography throughout the show! Snow White was full of jokes aimed at both children and adults and had everyone laughing throughout the show. There were parts that were perhaps a little on the scary side for children however, there was plenty of comedy to balance it out. All the classic panto segments were included, which I very much enjoyed, particularly the 12 Days of Christmas scene! The show was sprinkled with moments where the show went wrong or members of the cast forgot their lines where they were convincing enough that it was hard to tell if it was in the script or if things actually had gone wrong, which I loved!
Although the pantomime was called Snow White, the starring role was the show's villain Queen Lucretia, who was played by Craig Revel Horwood! The show was filled with plenty of Strictly Come Dancing references and the script played to Craig's reputation as a judge on the dance show however, I'm sure the audience was surprised by what else he brought to the role! Craig's strong voice was perfect for the musical numbers performed by Queen Lucretia, including One Way or Another and My Way! Craig played the perfect villain and I loved his performance! We also managed to have a chat with Craig after the show, who was lovely and very patient with everyone that was waiting to see him! I loved Ben Nickless' performances as Muddles, which had me in stitches throughout the show! The trio of Craig as Queen Lucretia, Ben as Muddles and Eric Potts as Dame Nora Crumble made for hilarious scenes and I loved the banter between them all!
The title character Snow White was played by Zoe George who suited the role perfectly and I loved her voice! Snow White's prince, Prince Harry, was played by Joshua St Clair, who I had previously seen in the Kinky Boots UK Tour and I loved his performance! The Magnificent Seven (the 7 dwarfs) were played by Daniel Breakwell, Jack Buchanan, Tyler Jay Dobbs, Matt Faull, Barney Fritz, Dale Mathurin and Nathan Routledge who performed their roles in the style of Lord Farquaad in Shrek The Musical. The cast was completed with an ensemble made up of Michael Afemare, Jo Bird, Catherine Cornwall, Jack Dargan, Jared Johnson, Esmae Lear, Joshua Piper and Emily Ann Potter, along with children from the Stalder Academy of Dance.
Overall, Snow White was a hilarious night at the theatre and I loved the show! The cast were amazing and I particularly loved Craig Revel Horwood, Ben Nickless and Zoe George! The reaction from the audience throughout the show was amazing to be a part of and it was great to see children and adults of all ages enjoying themselves! The show was full of special effects and I'm sure everyone left the theatre with a smile on their face!
Thanks for reading! Stay home and stay safe!
Sophie
