Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Grove Theatre, Dunstable
16 December 2008

Bear-ly concealed delight!

After the disappointment of Peter Pan not really being a panto, with no dame and too much plot, it was absolutely fantastic to get back to traditional pantomime in Dunstable.

Watching Snow White I laughed out loud again and I have to say that this was mainly due to an orange bear and a squeaky dog. Yes, Sooty and Sweep – my heroes! Who could think that two small hand puppets (sorry for spoiling the illusion kids!) could be so funny. Well, obviously as a devotee (and owner of their DVD Wet and Wild Water Fun!) I knew this, but it was a pure joy to see it all confirmed on stage!

Richard Cadell has recently taken on the Sooty and Sweep mantle from the Corbetts. He made a loveable Muddles and the two furry animals were his pals. Sweep’s rendition of Nessun Dorma was hilarious, Sooty of course didn’t say much but stole the show!

There were others of course in the show. Letitia Dean was an elegant Wicked Queen, who was also delightfully camp at times. And to my delight there was a Dame. There isn’t normally one in Snow White, and Dame Donut was a little superfluous to the story but hey, it was a dame so what the hell! Her clothes looked a little shabby and weren’t as creative or outrageous as Paul Laidlaw’s in Stevenage, but I was past caring – as long as the bear came on again soon, I didn’t mind!

All in all, great festive entertainment, just like pantos should be!