Writer: Nick George
Director: Peter Dayson
The Christmas season panto offering from Carriageworks this year is none other than fairy-tale favourite Snow White. Plot wise this was one of the more successful attempts at maintaining a recognisable storyline, so often pantomimes in recent years have been diverging from well-trodden paths and plots to take on new twists and extra turns, often resulting in neither the cast nor audience knowing exactly what is happening. Not the case in this show, which has a thoroughly standard set up of character meet and greet for the first ten minutes, then into the narrative for the majority of the show.
This works very well, as it allows for all of the cast to have their turn in the spotlight, and for the hardworking chorus (Alyssia Turpin, Annabelle Heppeler, Charlotte Bottomley, Louis Moore, Zach Olsen) to showcase their talents too. It also means that those in the audience who have been to Carriageworks for many years (“12 years with the exception of covid,” one man proclaimed proudly to one of the front of house staff) know exactly what is going to happen and when, along with what is expected of them. This makes for a very satisfying experience, and one that the cast clearly also recognise, as head funny man Muddles (Jez Edwards) ends the show by thanking the audience for their support in a truly genuine manner.
The quality of the performances across this panto is very high, with no real weak link. Everyone can sing a bit, some voices are outstanding and everyone can dance and act their socks off. There are also some stellar numbers by both Snow White (Beth Lyons) and the Prince (Andre Coulson) who sang their numbers with an easy confidence that made them all the more enjoyable to watch.
A brilliant pairing of Leeds favourite Jez Edwards, who is in his 14th year of panto at Carriageworks and his almost 1000th performance, and relative newcomer Luke Byeford as Muddles and Dame Dolly Dolittle respectively provided the standout moments of the show. They were hilarious, ridiculous (there’s a blow up 5ft sausage in one scene) and have clearly developed a strong partnership despite only being a few shows into their run. They make each other and themselves laugh with all their antics, and this means the audience loves them even more.
Nicole Faraday is suitably imposing as the Evil Queen, with an extraordinary range of zany facial expressions that any comedian would be proud of and her grovelling side kick turned all round good egg, Horace (Richard Russell Edwards) is brilliantly camp and dramatic throughout.
The set was exactly as you’d expect from a theatre with a great panto reputation – well painted, generally slick coming on and off and made good use of the opaque drapes. Sound effects were excellent, timed to perfection and very believable.
This isn’t a perfect panto, there was the occasional issue with the mechanics of the enchanted mirror and the curtain and sometimes the pre-recorded music felt a little twee, but it really didn’t matter because the audience adored it anyway.
And now to the stars of the show, the Seven Dwarfs. A cuter set of Dwarf puppets your reviewer has never seen. Each one looked different and had a separate accent and personality. They were absolutely gorgeous, to the point where most of the children in the audience wanted to take one home with them. Although their voices are recorded, this really isn’t a problem because the sound team here are SO good at what they do.
This is a lovely, joyful experience and one that kicked panto season off in a very positive way.
Runs until 7th January 2024
