Bournemouth Pavilion – 22-25 January
Review by Janine Pulford
A well-know fairytale on ice sounded the perfect show for two young children aged 6 and 7 so I offered to take them to the first night of Snow White. There is no doubt they enjoyed parts of it and so did I.
The professional Russian dancers faultlessly performed breathtaking twirls, lifts and juggling. They flew through the air at great height holding effortlessly to each other in a spectacular way. How the cast managed to stay within the confines of a stage was remarkable. The standard of skating, the dizzying twizzles and the wonderful costumes ticked all the boxes of a highly choreographed show and I loved it. But did the children? I am not convinced. Some of the scenes were overlong and the seven dwarfs, who were keenly awaited, were seven woodmen, most of whom were bigger than Snow White. Oh how we all yearned for Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey and the gang.
On the plus side for the kids, the panto-like appearance of Rustie Lee in a pink and black fairy costume, wings and sparkly bobbles on her head helped the story along with narration and they loved it. Rustie, despite being a bit tongue tied at times, got them singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ booing and hissing, clapping and giggling. For me, Rustie was an irritation. She destroyed the magical and atmospheric fairytale about the wicked queen, obsessed with being the fairest in the land, trying to bump off her step daughter Snow White because she is more beautiful than her.
It was a half and half show. The children loved Rustie and other high points for them were the mesmerising bubble scene, the ‘splits’ in the air, and the fit of giggles between Rustie and the two ducks, which I don’t think was in the script. In fact there wasn’t a script because nobody spoke during the show (except Rustie).
On the other hand, I was content with the ice skating and could have done without Rustie’s panto-like humour. It was a mixed up show and I suppose because of that, it genuinely has something for everyone.
If you want to see Snow White on Ice, it is at Bournemouth Pavilion until 25 January.
