Review: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, Festival Theatre Edinburgh

Photo credit: Douglas Robertson

The King’s Theatre pantomime is an Edinburgh institution, as linked to the city as Greyfriars Bobby and never-ending tram works. This year, however, due to the refurbishment of the King’s, the panto has relocated to the much bigger Festival Theatre. It’s held onto its big stars though, and the move has allowed for some giant set pieces and special effects that just couldn’t happen in the relative intimacy of the King’s.

There’s a lot to like in this year’s Snow White – it’s vibrant, lively, and full of the typical panto silliness that you’d expect, from toilet humour to audience participation with a sprinkling of Christmas cheer. There are some hilarious ad libs and, arguably the funniest part of any panto, there’s plenty of corpsing and laughter from the cast.

Snow White is played by 2022 graduate Francesca Ross, who has a sweet voice and is charming when on stage, but feels like she could grow in confidence in order to really make the most of her limited stage time. This is especially noticeable when she shares the stage with Brian James Leys as Prince Hamish, whose effortless voice and comfortable stage presence threaten to eclipse her performance. Considering this is a show named after them, both Snow White and the Magnificent Seven feature so little – they’re on stage for a very short amount of time and it feels like the characters are underutilised. 

Ultimately though, most Edinburgh audiences are here to see Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young. Stewart and Stott have been stalwarts of the Edinburgh pantomime for over twenty years, with Young joining them in more recent years, and their bond and easy working relationship is clear for all to see. They’re at their absolute best when they’re ad-libbing off each other and having a laugh – it puts the audience at ease and reassures us that we’re in safe hands. 

For the most part, we are. Young plays Muddles, the Buttons-esque court jester who’s secretly pining after Snow White. His physicality is impressive and he plays the fool with ease. He fits well into Stewart and Stott’s established partnership, with the former playing his mother, Nurse May, and the latter taking on the role of the villainous Lord Lucifer of Leith. Stewart and Stott have played versions of these roles many times before, and sometimes it does feel like we could be watching any panto, with no clear links to the plot in many of the scenes the three share. 

These scenes often go on a bit too long, leading the repeated jokes and punchlines to feel a little stale and overworked. In particular, the sketch involving lip syncing to lines from various songs to tell a story is far too lengthy and also goes slightly too far with its innuendo. Almost every pantomime has jokes aimed over the heads of its younger audience, but the jokes in this scene are a bit too on-the-nose and it feels like they step slightly over the line. Another joke about Jeremy Clarkson’s recent comments feels like it is in poor taste too – comments like that should not be used as a punchline to a joke, they should be condemned, and using them as a joke made us a little uncomfortable. 

All in all, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is certainly a fun, silly pantomime with many of the ingredients of a great show. A few tweaks to the script and a slightly shorter runtime would make this an absolute must-see, but even in its current form, you’ll still have a lot of fun and will leave with a smile on your face!

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Lorna Murray

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs plays at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until 22 January 2023, with tickets available here.