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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Published Wednesday 4 January 2006 at 16:20 by Scott Matthewman

The Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth has had a troubled recent history and, as it reopens with this production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it gets a panto to match.

The opening performance was plagued with sound amplification problems, resulting in vocal performances ranging from the inaudible to the unintelligible. Scene and lighting changes, too, suffered from what can only be hoped were teething difficulties. They certainly added to the difficulty this production had in maintaining a momentum.

There is precious little flow from scene to scene and the musical numbers are too often overlong or too slowly paced to maintain interest from the younger members of the audience. The first act clocked in at just over an hour and a half. Trimming that by a third would improve the whole production no end.

These difficulties are battled impressively by a spirited cast who, in fairness, give their all. Nicholas Maude as the dashing Prince Richard wins everyone over, while panto stalwarts Bernie Clifton and Nikki Kelly do their best to ensure that their hard work pays off. Less lucky is Peter McCrohon as Herman the Henchman, who struggles to cope with some baffling character changes. Built up as an archetypal baddie all the way through the first act, we’re suddenly asked to believe that he and Snow White (Hannah Spicer, in her first professional panto) have been lifelong friends. Then, by the second act, he’s back to being a baddie again. It’s little wonder he has difficulty getting the crowd to boo for him.

Backed up by impressive dancers from the Maria Anderson School of Dance, choreographed by Helen Jeckells, and an striking array of set designs, one is nonetheless left with an impression of opportunities missed.

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