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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

Recently reviewed online shows:

Falling Stars | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020

The War | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020

Marry me a Little | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020

Rent | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020

Right Left With Heels | ★★★★ | Online | November 2020

Ute Lemper: Rendezvous With Marlene | ★★★★★ | Online | November 2020

Jack and the Beanstalk | ★★★★ | Online | December 2020

Magnetic North | ★★★★ | Online | December 2020

The Fabulist Fox Sister | ★★★★ | Online | December 2020

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk | ★★★★ | Online | December 2020

Click here to see our most recent reviews

Cracking

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 1st March 2020

★★★★

“an absolutely necessary piece of writing, performed with informed sensitivity and restrained potency”

There’s a line from Radiohead’s ‘Black Star’, the first line, “I get home from work and you’re still standing in your dressing gown. Oh what am I to do?” Depression doesn’t just happen to one person, but so often we forget that, focusing solely on resolving or managing the actual depression and leaving collateral damage to fix itself.

‘Alright Mate?’ has noted and seeks to remedy the distinct lack of discussion around the effects of postnatal depression on a partner. In particular, they note that not only are men less fluent in expressing their emotions, but no-one is even really asking them whether they’re ok- the NHS is required to check in with mum, but there’s no such requirement for dad.

Sam (Tom Bowdler) and Rachel (Georgia Robinson) have been through a living hell, and finally they’re out on the other side: Rachel has thankfully recovered from her postpartum depression, she’s back at work, and their baby Tommy is happy and well. But something still isn’t quite right and their relationship is suffering for it. Through various therapy sessions, spliced with throw-backs to their relationship both before pregnancy and after, we see Sam continue to struggle with his emotions and how to express them, despite everything being seemingly back to normal.

Both Bowdler and Robinson show the full range of their characters, in moments of jubilance and deep misery; naïve confidence and crushing weariness. Bowdler in particular makes some very relatable choices, laughing uncomfortably even when he does manage to display some vulnerability.

Production is as bare bones as you could go, with only two sets of chairs serving as the whole set. But what with the script being based largely on verbatim interviews, it would feel disingenuous to employ any serious bells and whistles- when the text is this emotive, you don’t really need much else.

Writer and co-founder of ‘Alright Mate?’ Cally Hayes has created ‘Cracking’ in a form in which it needn’t be performed in a theatre space and in fact it’s touring, not just in community spaces and libraries, but also, more unusually, barbershops. Men are often loyal to the same barbershop for years and, according to ‘Alright Mate?’, end up in a fairly intimate bond with their barbers. This is an attempt to bring the message of communication and shared experiences to men who are otherwise unable to talk about their experiences with postpartum depression, which purportedly effects 1-26% of fathers, a statistic unfortunately hard to pin down seeing as no-one wants to talk about it.

On the one hand ‘Cracking’ is clearly an educational tool, created with the purpose of spreading an important social message. On the other though, it’s a deft and succinct piece of theatre. Perhaps it isn’t ideal for a big night out, but it is an absolutely necessary piece of writing, performed with informed sensitivity and restrained potency, and it deserves a much longer London run.

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”

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

Recently reviewed online shows:

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed – 1st March 2020

★★★★

“an absolutely necessary piece of writing, performed with informed sensitivity and restrained potency”

Both Bowdler and Robinson show the full range of their characters, in moments of jubilance and deep misery; naïve confidence and crushing weariness. Bowdler in particular makes some very relatable choices, laughing uncomfortably even when he does manage to display some vulnerability.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Cracking

King’s Head Theatre until 2nd March

Previously reviewed at this venue: