Written by Johnny McKnight

Directed by Julie Ellen

Musical Direction and Composition by Alan Penman

Review by Dominic Corr

Tickets from £22.00

It seems Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s The Sound of Music isn’t the only visit to the rolling, singing hills that festive audiences can experience this year. In traditional Johnny McKnight fashion, this year’s Stirling panto takes the bedside fairytales and mashes them together in a gloriously colourful and fun-filled adventure which, as the Macroberts wears its heart on its puffy sleeves to put on a show with Snow White, a cheerful number which delivers precisely what the audience is looking for in the way of song, dance, and fun – even if it isn’t pushing the boat out enough to step out from some of the bigger or bolder shows across Scotland.

A dirty, great big mash-up of popular media, the nostalgia of beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein pieces, and, of course, the Grimm Brothers’ classic Snow White, the Macrobert’s previous Artistic Director (taking up residence at the Byre Theatre now) Julie Ellen puts community and youth performances into action—beautifully appropriate for Snow White, even if the Step Mother is more so after the Prince than anything else this time around.

Ensuring the puns are off to a strong start, Chris Forbes is a terrific hoot, sent from the convent to provide care for the seven De’Wharff children, and makes for a compelling dame with Nanny Maria Shut Yon Trapp, getting their most enormous laughs from the ad-libs, references, and interactions with the audience – rather than the script. The terrifically named Mother (Thinks She’s) Superior gives Kara Swinner enough time to utilise the larger performance space to demonstrate their perfect vocals for the show’s take on the showstopper, Climb Ev’ry Mountain. And thanks to Jennie Lööf’s inventive costuming, which fills out a lot of the ‘big energy’ which might be missing from some of the cast, and the terrifically colourful and bold set design from Karen Tennent, which has presumably caused a glitter and sequin shortage, makes an ideal playground for the audience to let their imagination run wild – as the cast and youth ensemble manage the same.

A solid central heart for the show, but still with a playful nature that gives them plenty to work with, the talented duo of Tinashe Warikandwa’s full of character and vim Snow White and Tiger Mitchell’s incredibly (yet somehow endearingly) arrogant Prince Rupert Charming-Darling are the ideal pair of panto protagonists for younger audiences to root for and get behind. Giving some dimension to roles too often cookie-cut and left at the side for dames and villains to shine, the pair really are stars in the show and give it their all. They, along with the youth ensemble, showcase Alan Penman’s composition, which blends contemporary numbers with arrangements and its synchronised nature with Steph Fulton’s choreography, which again utilises the larger stage space to deliver a show that feels much bigger than it is.

And while the script could allow Giga Gray more of a cutting edge to be a real proper boo-worthy panto baddie, Baroness Fantasia De’Wharff has enough deliciously antagonistic energy to bring the room together in loathing that oh-so-traditional villain – the wicked stepmother. But the run-away winner for the gags and moments of audience interaction goes to the terrific Helen McAlpine as Swanky De’Wharff, who demonstrates how the show might be sticking too meticulously to the script and allowing the pacing to suffer. When McAlpine pops onto the stage, it usually garners the biggest laughs of the performance, decked out in various costumes, already ready to pump the energy up and ensure everyone in that room, from the tiny ones to the big ones, is having a cracking good time.

Brimming with whole heart of song and joy, particularly for the littlest of pantomime takers (and really, isn’t that who this is all for?), McKnight’s Snow White may not be the fairest or most cutting of pantos in the land, but it is one that continues the theme this year of having a robust youth cast. A solid pantomime punches out with glittering moments of glee and song, the Macroberts once again promises quality without the silly price tag other venues might promote – a Pantomime for everyone, accessible and entertaining.

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