A Brilliant Panto: Snow White (And The Sevenies)

Another fabulous evening’s entertainment at the Sheffield Lyceum. It’s that time of year again when the traditional Christmas pantomime bursts onto stages up and down the country and this year the Lyceum is proudly presenting Snow White.

Once again, this panto has been written and directed by Paul Hendy, who has clearly developed a winning formula. Snow White doesn’t disappoint as there is something to please even the grumpiest of Christmas scrooges.

The ingredients for a successful panto were here in abundance: An enthusiastic and energetic cast, colourful costumes, fabulous sets and lighting designs, and of course plenty of audience participation from the moment you enter the auditorium until the final bow and curtain call have been taken.

However, the key to any successful pantomime has to be the dame, this year in the form of Nurse Nellie, brilliantly played once again by Damien Williams, a much-loved regular at the Lyceum. It is William’s seventeenth year as the Lyceum panto dame and as you may expect, he has the role down to a fine art.

From his first appearance on stage, he has the audience eating out of his hands. His costumes and wigs, ever more colourful and flamboyant combined with a plentiful array of facial expressions and mannerisms were hilarious as was his tendency to ab lib, both with the audience (no one was safe) and fellow cast members. Along with his side kicks of Herman (Marc Pickering) and Muddles (George Akid), the trio kept the audience fully involved in the performance throughout. Herman, in particular, played his role to perfection.

Making her pantomime debut as the wicked queen Catherine Tyldesley (of Coronation Street fame) was excellent especially when speaking to the magic mirror to confirm that she was the fairest in the land. The magic mirror’s image and voice was of Alan Carr which was an unexpected treat.

The role of Snow White was played by Aoife Kenny whilst Matthew Croke took the part of Prince Charming. They made a lovely couple!

The ‘Sevenies’ were all stars with wonderful costumes and wonderful mannerisms – what more can I say?

Henchman Viper (Gladiators) was a surprise member of the cast who didn’t have much to say but added a necessary air of menace to the wicked queen’s plans.
Unusually for a panto, there are no slapstick scenes in this production, but they were not missed in the slightest.

Without exception, the ensemble supported the main cast members with their energetic dance routines adding colour and flair to the production.

As is usual in pantomimes at the Lyceum, the band were situated in the boxes either side of the stage and were enthusiastically led by musical director, James Harrison, whose energy was almost too exhausting to watch, especially so when the audience were joining in and singing along with the cast with the well-known songs. The Elton John mega mix towards the end of Act two was fabulous as was the finale, full of energy, enthusiasm and colour.

A brilliant panto which offers a great evening of entertainment for all the family. Its sure to get you into the festive spirit just in time for Christmas.

Sheffield Lyceum Until 5th January 2025