THERE is just one word to describe the Company of Friends’ production of Snow White at Chequer Mead this Christmas – FAB-U-LOUS.
Lovely Abbie Lomax, with her heart-shaped face and captivating rapport with her little co-stars, was born to play the princess abandoned to her fate by the wickedest Stepmother in all pantoland.
Warm, funny and with a voice as lovely as her face, Abbie’s performance was entrancing.
Slightly less lovely, but no less riveting to watch, was Friends’ veteran Michael Spencer as the Wicked Queen. Michael is well-known to Chequer Mead audiences from previous roles which have included the gentlemanly Professor Higgins and the villainous Bill Sykes. But this versatile player is also terrific in a frock, and it was good to see him back on top form in familiar territory as the panto dame.
An unsuccessful search for a Prince worthy of winning Snow White’s heart caused the Friends’ some anguish in the autumn until Nick Gibbs was discovered at a workshop in Kenley.
Tall, blond and very handsome indeed, Nick’s endearingly shy performance was straight out of the Prince William Charm School – and on the basis of his East Grinstead debut I suspect Nick will find himself much in demand for a reprise next year.
The comic interest in this year’s show was provided by Ashley Wolfendale as Muddles, who won his audience over with ease, great vocals and rather more sweets than were probably good for them.
Phil World as Herman and John Barnett as Hector, the Queen’s henchmen, are also Friends veterans, and their accomplished routines had the entire house on its feet for their lively audience participation numbers, The Time Warp and The Grand Old Duke of York.
While Sally Norris twinkled magically as Fairy Goodheart, and made sure that after a dodgy interval when things looked pretty bleak, everything did indeed end happily ever after.
But the little stars of the show were undoubtedly the dwarves, played not by vertically challenged adults, but by children.
From the moment the eponymous seven heroes marched on stage, they were simply adorable.
And while it would be invidious to single out any one of them for special praise, Grumbly Matthew Barnett’s perfect delivery had the house roaring with laughter at his misogynist one-liners.
The Friends’ ensemble were as step-perfect as ever, and they delivered a particularly effective night-time scene in the forest where the ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties probably gave one or two of the smaller audience members nightmares later.
But the traditional wedding scene was beautiful – and a fitting end to a show which sent everyone out into the dark feeling that Christmas had begun in earnest.
Geraldine Durrant
