Snow White

Image Source: Mark McNulty

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Format: Pantomime
Genre: Comedy
Date: December 13 2016
Location: Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England

There have been many memorable and completely different shows at the Empire this year, such as Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, Annie, The Bodyguard, Chicago, Blood Brothers, Cats and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. However, there is only one way that you could end a year at any theatre, especially the Empire, and that is with the annual, star-studded Christmas pantomime.

The show this year is Snow White, and Jorgie Porter leads a cast of stand-out names by playing Snow White. Leanne Campbell plays Queen Morgiana in her fourth consecutive panto appearance at the Empire, Liam Mellor reprises his role of Muddles, Colin Connor acts as Herman The Henchman, Stephen Fletcher is Prince Brian Of Birkenhead, and Pete Price makes a cameo as the face and voice of the Magic Mirror. Oh, and as the title of the show would have you expect, there are appearances by the Seven Dwarves.

The story goes that Queen Morgiana is fearful of Snow White growing up and becoming prettier than her. Her worst fears come true upon Snow White's 18th birthday, at which point Prince Brian turns up and falls in love with the princess. Cue methods of nastiness by Morgiana, some via her fearful yet reluctant henchman Herman, and when it seems like there is no solution to Snow White's woes, her friends - both old and new, and both large and small - provide as much assistance as they can as she strives to maintain her love for the Prince. But with the wicked Morgiana aiming to remove her from the picture so that she can receive an ego-boost for her looks and enhance her own financial security via the Prince's riches, can Snow White succeed?

The costumes for the main characters are excellent; it's odd to see Snow White with blonde hair, but it actually adds something different to this particular version of the show, and in actual fact some may find the blonde-haired Snow White look to be better. The sets are also very good; it's clear that a lot of work has gone into making the settings look as faithful to the story as possible, especially for the home of the Seven Dwarves, which comes complete with miniature chairs and tables. And there are several songs for the audience to join in with, both from the original show and in the form of modern hits or festive tunes, particularly a localised and humorous version of Twelve Days Of Christmas.

As for the performances: all of the cast do a good job, but I was particularly impressed with Colin Connor as Herman The Henchman. His role is a secondary one, but the mix of an Irish accent and a down-to-earth explanation of certain events on stage made for an amusing combination, which along with some strong material, good ad-libbing and suitably-OTT delivery and mannerisms made him a treat to watch, and to me he ended up being the performer who I most remembered when all was said and done. That being said, everyone brings their A-game to the show, and once can easily immerse themselves in the experience due to the believable performances by all. And the jokes, whilst occasionally hit-and-miss, resonated with both children and adults, meaning that the whole family could laugh along with the show.

What helped to make this show seem special was the addition of minor touches: attendees were given treats as they entered, and on sale (from a custom-built store, no less) were a variety of colourful toys for the kids to enjoy and for them to use to join in with some dance numbers. There were also Christmas hits being played beforehand and during intermission, and Xmas adverts were shown on the big screen during the commercial break, all of which added to that warm, fuzzy feeling of festive fun and Christmassy nostalgia.

For those looking for some festive fun and a chance to pass the Christmas panto tradition down to a new generation of youngsters, Snow White at the Empire is a very good option.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent

A Princely Chat With Stephen Fletcher

Image Source: Made Up

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Liverpool Empire Theatre

After speaking to Jorgie Porter, who will play Snow White at the Liverpool Empire Theatre this winter, we wanted to hear from her future Prince! So, we caught up with Stephen Fletcher, who will be taking on the time-honoured role of Prince Charming ...

Tell us about your role in Snow White.

Well, I play the love interest of Snow White, the Prince, Prince Charming; that's usually his title!

I understand that you have previous experience working with the Liverpool Empire at panto season.

Yes, I've done one panto before, with Cilla Black in 2008, where I played the Prince again. That was good; it was nice to meet Cilla Black, and other Scouse legends like Les Dennis and Ted Robbins. That was a while ago now, so it's good to be back at the Empire this Christmas.

What are some of your other highlights in your theatre career so far?

I'd done bits and bobs before that panto, but it was a real honour to be cast for a show at the Empire, as it's the jewel in Liverpool's theatre scene. I've done a lot of theatre stuff here, there and everywhere: since 2008, I've done a lot of work at the Royal Court, and I wrote a show there last year called Mam! I'm 'Ere! And I've done bits of telly in between, so I've done odds and sods.

You mentioned your own show Mam! I'm 'Ere! Tell us more about that.

Because a lot of us didn't have a job over Christmas time, I had the time to write a spoof show called Mam! I'm 'Ere! It's obviously a spoof of Mamma Mia! The difference is that the main character is looking for her mum rather than her dad. I wrote the story based around the cast who would be involved, I worked in a few disco songs and sold out over Christmas; there were around 10,000 people in total who came to watch it. Then, the Royal Court did a co-production of it with me last summer, and we had 23,000 people come out to see it then. It was a great family show, so I'm really proud of that one.

What would you consider to be the most unusual project that you've worked on in theatre?

Well, I've done loads of random things; as an actor, you get asked to do lots of workshops before a play has been written while the idea is being developed, so to create a play, sometimes directors will get you to do lots of weird and wonderful things, like roll around floors or improvise, but as an actor, you've just got to go along and do it. There have been moments where I've thought "I didn't expect to be in this scenario!" Like chatting backstage with Cilla Black, talking about her time at the London Palladium; that was definitely going in my memory bank. And when I've worked in London on and off, I've met people that you'd never think that you'd get to meet, so those kind of things are weird and wonderful for me, really.

Were you a fan of panto growing up?

Yeah, I think my first memory of theatre was pantomime. I used to work at the Chester Gateway Theatre as a carpenter, so I used to help build the sets. So, I went to watch one of the pantos with my family there, so that sticks out. One of my first memories of the Empire was a panto about Mr. T; I remember seeing that with my family way at the back of the Gods, but that's still stayed with me.

What can the Liverpool audience expect from Snow White?

Well, it's always a spectacle. With First Family, the company who are running the show, it's traditional that people who come will know what to expect, with the catch phrases and stuff. It'll be a feel-good family show.

Snow White will be delivering festive fun at the Liverpool Empire from Saturday December 10 to Saturday December 31. To book your tickets, click here.