SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS .. BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ... SATURDAY JANUARY 18TH 2020 ..

Lesley Joseph as Wicked Dragonella

My favourite. much looked forward start to the New Year is my visit to Birmingham to see the always sensational Panto at the iconic Birmingham Hippodrome now celebrating 120 years as one of Britain's top entertainment venues. One thing is for certain as regards to the panto, you are always guaranteed a spectacular evening ( or afternoon! ) of entertainment, even more so the last few years as The London Palladium production from the previous year, transfers to the Hippodrome. I always make an effort to attend The Palladium panto in December and it can be fun to compare the different casts of both shows.. The stars of this production included Lesley Joseph as Wicked Queen Dragonella, a role played by Dawn French in London.. Much as I like Dawn, I much preferred Lesley's tongue in cheek performance, she of course is seasoned veteran of the panto scene. One of the main draws of the Palladium is Julian Clary, who always wows audiences with his over the top costumes and racy innuendo and who was the Spirit of The Mirror. Golden voiced Joe McElderry

Joe McElderry as Spirit of the Mirror

takes the role of Spirit of The Mirror, but  without the comic moments and the fabulous costumes, in fact Joe is assigned only one silver creation throughout the show except for the finale walkdown.  But Joe has the wonderful voice to compensate and provides great entertainment value.. Other star names are 'Coronation Street' Faye Brookes as Snow White and 'Joseph & Technicolor Dreamcoat' star Jac Yarrow as Prince Harry. One change I didn't approve of was this politically correct plot switch of having the Prince bite the apple and Snow White giving the kiss of life.. It seems fairy tales

Andrew Ryan & Matt Slack

are not immune to the PC brigade! Comedy moments in the show as in previous years has fallen on the shoulders of Matt Slack who is a big hit with Birmingham audiences. Matt is one of those high octane performers that is totally unpredictable in the Brian Conley, Michael Barrymore vein and gives his all in the role of Muddles.. Playing the Wicked Queens Lady in Waiting is another local comic Doreen Tipton, whose comedy routine is based around her being the laziest woman in the Midlands and I must admit her dry

Fabulous Finale

humour does amuse me. Other mentions are the always hilarious Andrew Ryan as Dame and dance group Flawless as the Queens guards and of course a motley crew of seven dwarfs. As this is a Qdos production, a sensational set and lighting compliment the fabulous costumes. The FX Twins provide a fiery dragon, flying reindeer and a spooky transformation scene.. All in all a fairytale to remember!!

Always a joy to see Lesley...