Tag Archives: Ali Wright

Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

★★★★

Online

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Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

Online via www.kingsheadtheatre.com

Reviewed – 14th December 2020

★★★★

 

“The talent on display longs to break out of the small screen and take to the stage again”

 

“Mirror mirror on the wall…” begins the Wicked Queen in familiar, heightened, camped up, Disney tones. The mirror is cracked and voiced by the inimitable comedy couple Mark Gatiss and Ian Hallard, so any resemblance to the usual Snow-White tale is thrown out of the window for the next hour. The Queen brushes aside the pleasantries about who might be the fairest in the land; she wants to know how best to claw back all that money from furlough that she doled out throughout the year.

And so, the tone is set. But this is more than a mere retelling of Snow White with clever references to Lockdown, as the title might suggest. Last Christmas Charles Court Opera took the Nativity story and turned it completely on its head to joyful and triumphant effect. This year they have been forced to work behind closed doors, but their boundless, chaotic imaginations have not been restrained in the least and again, they have created a unique show dressed up in their distinctive style. It is difficult to continue this review without spoilers. But then again, I could probably describe the plot in detail for you and you’d still be none the wiser.

Snow White is a man in a frock, widow to the late, great King of Soul, Barry White. See what I mean? The Prince of Pretzel (aka Larry) wants to marry Snow White, but his valet Harry reminds him that she is a commoner and therefore beneath him. The Wicked Queen has other plans entirely. The seven dwarves are renamed due to Disney copyright. The poisoned apple is a box of Turkish Delight (or is it a bomb? Or a Pie?). When Larry and Harry meet Gary (the plumber, or could it be the Wicked Queen in disguise…?) things hot up. The jokes and innuendos are the only elements of predictability in this otherwise surreal and riotous romp through Fairyland. There is a family version or an adult version to choose from before you watch, though I suspect there is little difference between the two. A few profanities aside, it is soft-core enough to sit either side of the watershed. The enjoyment and the subversive sense of humour derives from the twists in the Pythonesque narrative, but above all in the performances of the company’s members.

Jennie Jacobs cuts a dusky figure as the Wicked Queen; an inspired cross between Penelope Keith and Cruella de Ville. John Savournin’s Snow White channels David Walliams in drag; but better. Savounin makes the character truly his own with a finely honed, deadpan self-deprecation. Like the rest of the cast, Emily Cairns as the Prince and Meriel Cunningham as the side-kick valet who turns into a toad, trailblaze through the show with expert comic timing and spot-on characterisation. And then there is Matthew Kellett, who has the job of playing the seven dwarves. His versatility borders on insane, especially when he delivers an Elton John pastiche, singing to his own corpse at the funeral of ‘Half Baked’ the dwarf. Indeed, the musical moments stand out. Each member of the cast, along with the chorus, is in fine voice. David Eaton’s lyrics are as inventive and topical as ever, pasted onto parodies that plunder popular culture. The highlight of the show has to be a brilliant ensemble mash up that, within a mere two and a half minutes, packs in The Beatles, A-Ha, Village people, Oasis and ‘Les Misérables’ among others.

The comic references, particularly to the pandemic, never hamper the action, which trundles towards a neat, morally strewn conclusion during which we are advised not to hide the power of “lurve” by Barry White himself (uncannily voiced by Marcus Fraser) from behind an animated cloud. We could almost be in Terry Gilliam territory.

Occasionally, though, the team’s ambitions outstretch them. The interactive elements, whereby we can select an option on the screen to determine the course of the action stall the flow. The teething problems inherent in the technology occasionally set us adrift. But once back on board we are again swept along. It is a shame, though, that we are not witnessing this show live. The talent on display longs to break out of the small screen and take to the stage again. But if this year’s offering is anything to go by, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next Christmas when, surely by then, we’ll all be back in a sold-out auditorium – which is what they deserve.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by  Ali Wright

 


 

Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

Available to stream until 31st December from www.kingsheadtheatre.com

 

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When We Died

When We Died

★★★★

VAULT Festival 2020

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When We Died

When We Died

Cage – The Vaults

Reviewed – 11th March 2020

★★★★

 

“a gripping play that deals sensitively with a difficult topic”

 

Rachel presents dead bodies, for what we can assume is a funeral directors, and is forced to confront her demons when faced with the body of a man who sexually assaulted her. This forms the basis of Alexandra Donnachie’s play, When We Died, exploring the aftermath of trauma and how one woman coming face to face with her attacker prompts her to tell her story.

The play begins relatively upbeat, with Rachel explaining her job and how she entertains herself by imagining the kinds of lives the people she has to embalm might have lived. The humour here is quite unexpected but actually works very well. A change of mood occurs when Rachel explains that one day she had to present a man it turns out she knows, although we’re unsure of exactly how they knew each other at this point in the play.

Throughout the play Rachel switches from providing an insight into the different stages of the embalming process (oddly fascinating!) to recounting how she met her attacker, the night he took advantage and the impact the event went on to have. Donnachie’s engaging manner makes it easy for us to retain interest in the story and feel empathy for the character she has created. You can really imagine Rachel’s place of work, flat and the people in her life thanks to Donnachie’s excellent story-telling. She also makes a good amount of eye contact with the audience, but not so much that it’s awkward.

The stage is framed by strips of neon lights on the floor and two neon poles in opposite corners, which change colour and dim at various points during the play. This is quite atmospheric but doesn’t add a great deal to a play which is fuelled by an engaging script and talented sole performer.

When We Died deals with a tricky subject, but there is no graphic detail of sexual violence. The focus is instead on the aftermath of rape and how this one character copes and comes to terms with it. Andy Routledge’s direction combined with Donnachie’s writing and acting makes for a gripping play that deals sensitively with a difficult topic. I only hope more people get to experience it beyond its short run as part of the VAULT Festival.

 

Reviewed by Emily K Neal

Photography by Ali Wright

 

VAULT Festival 2020

 

 

Click here to see all our reviews from VAULT Festival 2020