Snow White at Watersmeet - Flea OLE!

Another Magical Pantomime

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs raise the roof at Watersmeet, Rickmansworth.

What is more wonderful than snow on the ground outside while inside, shrieks of delight from children and parents alike fill an auditorium. If you haven’t yet taken your kids to a pantomime this year - then GO TO THIS ONE!

But HURRY - it ends 3rd January 2010.

Of course, we all know the story of the vain queen, her magic mirror on the wall, her fury at being told she is not the fairest woman in the kingdom, her evil plan to deceive the young girl who is (Snow White - her step-daughter) and kill her with a poisoned apple, how the young girl goes to hide in the forest, befriending and becoming ‘mother’ to seven diamond-mining dwarfs and ultimately, after the wicked queen thinks she’s succeeded, Snow White is brought back to life by the kiss of a handsome prince who had come to marry the queen but instead fell in love with her - and of course they live happily ever after.

In this production, a spectacular and colourful final scene depicts Snow White’s wedding to the Prince, but after the final curtain falls, there’s an extra unexpected treat from Muddles. But if you want to know what that is - you’ll just have to go!

As the traditional pantomime fun played out, complete with heroin and hero, good and evil, the quintessential dame, never-ending laughs and delightful costumes, the younger members in our audience waived their light sticks and whirred their multicoloured lightmills (all available to purchase in the foyer) in glorious appreciation while never failing to respond with shouts of “he’s behind you” and “Oh! No it’s not”.

Despite her still-youthful good looks, reflected and confirmed as she asked her magic mirror on the wall (David Spence) “who is the fairest of them all”, Kim Hartman of ‘Allo Allo’ fame carried the role of the evil queen brilliantly - her evil laugh still ringing in our ears long after the show ended, while her unfortunate too-dumb-to-be-wicked henchman Herman (Richard Grieve) a loyal but incompetent flunky, ultimately emerged as being quite lovable and succumbing to the advances of Dame Dolly Dumpling.

Michael Otton as “Muddles” was absolutely superb as the knockabout comedian, main audience link-man, occasional magician and youngster’s friend.

Quite outstanding too was the lovely Angelina Treva Riley as the Woodland Fairy, not only supplying continuity and ensuring, as in all good fairy tales, that good would in the end triumph over evil, but providing us with an unexpected, spectacular yet graceful display of her agility and skill as an aerial artiste, performing her seductive magic on a suspended hoop.

Mark Hasting’s Dame Dolly Dumpling was delightful - not only did we lose count of all ‘her’ different costumes, (maybe a Guinness record there for the number of changes!) but the variety and content of her hats must be seen to be believed.

Of course, Snow White (Sarah Accomande) and her leading man Grant Richard as the besotted suitor Prince Richard did not disappoint - an attractive pair they provided us with some strong vocals to complement the love interest…

The supporting cast comprising both professional dancers and children from the Maria Anderson School of Dance in Ruislip were enchanting.

Altogether - a first class show. Oh! Yes it WAS!...

To Book Now - call 01923 711603

Watersmeet, High Street, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire WD3 1EH

^{_{For what's on next, check What's On on this site or Watersmeet.co.uk}}

_{^{Images courtesy of Watersmeet and Three Rivers District Council}}

This article was created on Sunday, 27th December 2009. It was last tinkered with on Sunday, 10th January 2010.

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