Written by Andrew McHugh

With Additional Material by Elaine C Smith & Johnny Mac

Directed by Kathryn Rooney

Tickets from £13.00

The people of Glaswegia don’t often get the call for a party – tricky to do this when your monarch is the cruel (though stylish) Queen Cranachan, but things are about to change. About to come of age, the young Snow White is ascending to the Glasweiga throne – and everything looks like it’s going to work out for the better. That is, until Queen Cranachan, with help from the Man in the Mirror, realises Snow White’s claim to her crown and enchants Snow White’s closest friends into ripping out her heart. On the run, with a few gags in tow, Snow White needs a place to hide! And where better than in a quaint cottage in the forest, being run as an air bnb by the magnificent seven (who bring additional humour and song) who offer shelter to Snow White and her companions.

Scotland’s leading panto lady, Elaine C. Smith continues to show the lads how it’s done with her twenty dedicated years to the Scottish pantomime scene. While the entire cast holds their own and comes together with some quick comedy, costume changes, and physical routines – Smith, as Snow White’s maternally loving Nurse Bella, is the central presence and exudes light of the show. They don’t so much control the crowd as work with them, one of the most connecting performers with their audience, and one which is delivered with spectacle and plenty of welly for the musical numbers.

Working together once again director Kathryn Rooney’s recipe succeeds in bringing the principal cast from last year’s Beauty and the Beast as Alan McHugh brings out the pun-guns to make sure Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs continues to hold the Kings Theatre’s place as one of Glasgow’s cornerstone Pantos. Darren Brownlie shifts from a bumbling sidekick to a relished and more central role. As confident and powerful a comedic performer as Smith, it’s a true gift to see Brownlie have a wider part of the story this year, turning The Man in the Mirror from a relegated fortune teller to a snazzy reflection of the show.

Sharpening out the triangle of comedic talents – Johnny Mac returns as a reliable stooge for Smith’s more cutting humour and performs the tried-and-tested role of Muddles with plenty of pep and physical humour. Even the more drawn-out elements of the show, which could benefit from a quicker cut for timing, still end up being tremendously successful thanks to Mac’s spectacularly charming personality, or their chemistry with Smith, Brownlie, or another returning star Blythe Jandoo as the titular princess.

The back-and-forth between Smith and Mac takes up a significant chunk of the action but captures a very traditional sense of Scottish pantomime. The routines are greatly executed, trademark gags and patter, which have a place in expectation from the crowd but are delivered by pros in their craft. It’s a classic variety sense of play, with misheard lyrics, double-entendres, faux-pass, and a heaping helping of local references where Govan often gets it right in the neck. It comes together for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs where comedy and plot align themselves with one another for maximum impact.

Doing the unthinkable, not attempting to murder Snow White, but moving from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Liz Ewing reprises their role from the Festival Theatre production from last year. Giddy, cackling, and as much a threat to Christopher Jordan-Marshall’s knee-slapping Prince Calum as she is to Snow White, though for entirely different reasons…, Ewing nails their balance of antagonistic and yet pantomime. They’re the antithesis of Jandoo’s Snow White – who captures the innocence of the role without dampening the character, bringing some wonderful vocals alongside Jordan-Marshall.

Often backed up by a movement-orientated ensemble cast, choreographer Jane McMurtrie’s movement direction and thought process weaves tightly with Teresa Nalton and Rob Briggs’s costumes to demonstrate both technique and flaunty numbers. Shifting through various vivid tones and regal popping colour, Andrew Exeter’s lighting ricochets and catapults much of the additional spectacle through the audience – though there does seem to be more thought for the forward trajectory of the stage, than for those further back.

Big, bold, and beautiful, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs brings all the key elements audiences can want from a pantomime to deliver a showstopper which captures the local flair and heart but loses itself in this spectacle a touch. The magic is there as is the talent, but it can occasionally come over as predictable or glazed over. But the Kings still holds a special place and delivers an extravaganza that punches out with some great comedy and a reliably strong cast.

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