Kevin Johns has played pantomime for 29 years and this is his 23rd at the Grand Swansea and that experience and affection from the audience crosses the footlights as this he plays Dame Betty in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He is a wonderful Dame and delivers his lines with a delightful Welsh glee and reminds us of the great Music Hall artists as he holds court centre stage in a series of set-piece routines that have little to do with this traditional pantomime story.
He is joined on stage in a double act by the impressionist Jon Clegg (who found fame in 2014 Britain’s Got Talent) as Muddles who has his own set-piece routines with excellent impressions of Boris Johnson, Michael McIntyre, Ant and Dec, Rob Bryden, Sarah Millican, Alan Carr, John Bishop and Trump. Each are instantly recognisable and amusing but the material relies on recognition rather than a clever gag. His high energy madcap style keeps the audience engaged in the first half.
Together they deliver good versions of the Chat up routine, a Dance-off, Mastermind and the clever music clip storytelling showing their excellent comic timing but In the second half they include a very lame version of the haunted Bedroom routine, a dull “recap on the show so far”, and a disappointing “if I was not upon the stage” which looked under-rehearsed. They are joined in some of these routines by Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson trying to carve out a new role for himself as a stage entertainer in the role of Man in the Mirror, but he does not have the stage presence of Gok Wan in the same role in Woking and his dance moves lack the smooth precision of Anton Du Beke as Buttons in Richmond. He does have a nice line in Athletics puns. Zoe George has a great stage presence and fine voice as Queen Lucretia and is wonderful in her routines of “Bad Girls” and “I put a spell on you” and she does at least keep the story on track with the songs emerging naturally from the narrative as she tries to destroy Snow White and marry the Prince (Rob Wilshaw) herself. Snow White is played by Emma Kirk in the spirit of the Disney version with a confident opening number and two numbers with the seven dwarfs.
The dwarfs are played by seven of the eight in the Ensemble (with the eighth playing a squirrel that appears frequently) on their knees with distinctive characters and requiring some quick changes. The choreography by Richard Roe is very good especially in supporting the Queen’s routine and the show is exceptionally well lit by Chris Barrett.Alan McHugh’s basic storytelling script is overwhelmed by the variety of comedy routines and the result is a show 15 minutes too long, with an uneven balance and pace, despite the very best efforts of Clegg, Johns and George who provide plenty of fun and entertainment for the young Welsh audience.
Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★★
Seat: Stalls, Row L | Price of Ticket: £30
