"Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Now, here is a pantomime with a twist that I really didn't expect. Written by Harry Michaels, with additional material by Joe Pasquale, this classic Christmas tale reverses the tale somewhat, which catches you off guard, but don't expect me to say what it is! Go and see it to find out; you will not be disappointed.

We find Muddles and his Mum, Mrs Nelly Nightnurse along with Princess Snow White, whose Mother is the Wicked Queen Lucretia. Lucretia wants to be the fairest in the land and manages to keep tabs on this, thanks to her magical talking mirror. Watching over them is The Spirit Of Pantomime with her magic ways. Enter the handsome Prince William from West Bridgford who falls madly in love with Snow White, and vice versa.

Lucretia orders Muddles and Nelly to take Snow White into the woods on a picnic and then kill her. They obviously don't do this and with a little help from The Spirit Of Pantomime they hide her in a cottage in the woods, owned by the Magnificent Seven. Lucretia finds out that Snow White is not out of the picture and disguises herself as an old woman with a big red juicy apple for Snow White.

Okay, so nothing new there, but then comes the twist..........

Joe pasquale plays Muddles, and with Joe you get what you see; a joke machine that spills jokes out almost non-stop, along with many "fart" jokes, which the younger audience members love. Many of the jokes are old jokes but there are quite a few that even I have not heard before, and they buoy well with the old "groan" jokes. A master of comedy, whether it be physical, joke telling or with effects, Joe makes the perfect panto participant, and there was no muddle when choosing this master of mirth and merriment.

Faye Tozer, from Steps, plays The Wicked Queen. I've seen Faye perform in her acting role previously so I know what a talented actor she is, and she balances the nasty Lucretia role perfectly with comedy, especially in the "chav" letter section to The Prince from Snow White. Of course, we get to hear those wonderfully tuneful tonsils as well, keeping us waiting until the finale for the eagerly anticipated, and expected, Steps medley of "Stomp", "Better Best Forgotten" and, of course, "Tragedy", which brought the whole theatre to their feet, dancing, clapping, singing and doing the Steps choreography.

David Robbins is marvellous as Dame, and is one of a pair of local talents in this year's panto. I've not seen David as a Dame character previously, but has rapidly rocketed right to the top of my Dame list. He presents his character in the classic style, and of course the twelve costume changes. David creates all of his own wigs as well and each one seemed to get higher and more outrageous than the previous one.

West End star Jamal Kane Crawford plays The Prince. Another new name to me but a worthy Prince with his good looks, fine voice, and dazzling smile.

Lucy Ireland plays Snow White, and you don't even have to guess the role because the costume gives her away. That is one thing that I really like about this year's panto; it's gone back to the traditional style of panto where you just need to look at the character to know exactly who they are supposed to be and their character. That in itself makes everything easier for younger members and breaks the ice straight away. A lovely voice which is highlighted spectacularly in her duet with The Spirit Of Pantomime in "Someday My Prince Will Come".

Natalia Brown is a young woman I've seen on local stages over the years, so it's lovely to see her on stage with such well-known names. Natalia plays The Spirit Of Pantomime, and she looks absolutely gorgeous and gets to wear some beautiful costumes, dripping in sparkle and white frills. I've heard Natalia's vocals before so I know what a lovely voice she has. She looks completely unphased by sharing the stage with names like Joe, Faye and Jamal, proving her talent and professionalism, something that anyone who has seen Natalia before is well aware of.

I loved the cheeky, lovable Magnificent Seven who were @Simeon Dyer, Karen Anderson, Willie Coppen (who is also a local actor from Derby), Blake Lisle, Andrew Martin, Katarzyna Meczynska and Alireza Sarebani.

Directed by Alan Harding, who has got this panto spot on. It is only fifty minutes each act, its story is delivered without any faff, there are just the right number of songs in here, and I knew every one of them straight away. Beautifully paced which made the time fly by and ensuring that you left wanting just that bit more; but what more could be given as there was everything but the kitchen sink in it.

The giant magic talking mirror rose from the orchestra pit shrouded in smoke and green lighting, there was slapstick, dance, a brilliant comedy song and dance routine of "If I Was Not In Panto", which involved Joe getting punched, prodded, whacked with a cricket bat and completely abused. He also ended up with a sore bottom, which is a separate incident, there was a joke truth tank where every time a lie was told items of clothing were whisked away from Joe. And then there is that magical flying car.

Choreography by Sharon Harding was so tight from the ensemble and also not too difficult as to show up the non-dancing cast members

Sound Design is by Ross Portway and Lighting Design is by Rory Beaton. Both specialist areas were excellently executed. Only one mic cue miss but the lighting was outstanding; it was akin to being in a club at times such was the power of both sound and light.

The Musical Director is Sarah Burrell who along with her band created a lovely crisp and aurally satisfying backing.

There were some brilliant songs performed superbly, especially the theme that ran through from start to finish, "With A Smile And A Song", parodies of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" and Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" and Lizzo's "About Damn Time", as well as traditional fare from Disney's film "Snow White" with "Heigh Ho", "Whistle While You Work" and the aforementioned "Someday My Prince Will Come".

Possibly my favourite 2022 panto and one of the best pantomimes I've seen for a while at the Nottingham Theatre Royal. A classic and traditional pantomime for the whole family.

"Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs", the fairest panto of them all, is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Sunday 8 January 2023.