We always look forward to a festive trip to Durham. There’s something about those cobbled streets that seems so festive even in the freezing cold. After a quick (yup it was cold!) potter round the shops & a lush Zapatista burrito, we headed to the Gala Theatre to catch ‘Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs’ to catch our first panto of the season.
Gala Theatre
We really like this theatre for its location & modern comfortable seating. Parking was a breeze in the nearby Prince Bishops Car Park which uses vehicle registration recognition to log your time. The Gala is small enough to feel intimate & you feel like the staff really care about the place.
The Panto takes over the theatres foyer. Just like last year there was a subtle theming on te Christmas tree too. This year a sharp eye will spot the Apple Tree Topper.
Abigail took her two dolls and the usher asked us if we had tickets for them and commented on their good behavior! Seated in Row N towards the back of the stalls we had a great view & we were out of the way from the ‘picked on audience member zone’. This honour belonged to poor Stacey in the front row tonight!
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
Like Robinson Crusoe (which we reviewed last year) this panto isn’t afraid to veer off the traditional script and go crazy with artistic license. The show opened with Rupert Von Rottenchops (Neil Armstrong) bumping off the Queen & sending away her daughter Snow White (Lauren Waine) hidden in the Dominos pizza bag. I told you it was random! But in a good way.
Snow must team up with her adopted Mam Dame Dolly Doodle (Paul Dunn) Chester the Jester (Paul Hartley) & Will the Huntsman (Jacob Anderton) to rid the town of their self-declared Rottenchops before he blows the town of Fairy Hill up with his canon.
Chester & Dame Dolly were the perfect comedy duo & I actually was howling at a scene involving a squeaky balloon which Chester had swallowed. The diamond mine also provided some silly slapstick involving custard and some dynamite!
Rottenchops played the villain to perfection & had some brilliant one-liners about a Bag for Life & the size of his canon balls! His disguise was another highlight as he attempted to get Snow to take a poison apple.
Musical numbers were sleek & it was great to have a live band up in the gallery to play the songs. The girls appreciated a bit of ‘Greatest Showman’ & the Magic Mirror’s rendition of Sigala and Paloma Faith’s ‘Changing’ was excellent. The Seven Dwarfs were played by children and they were all very talented kids. I liked the changing of the Dwarfs names to Radgie & Sassy to give it another twist from the original.
What sets the Gala apart is that the show is produced by the stars Neil Armstrong & Paul Hartley. The guys know the theatre and local area well & aren’t afraid to take a risk with the storyline to make a traditional tale fresh and modern.
We had a fantastic night of pantomime fun at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and would recommend the show to everyone. The show was full of the usual innuendoes, comedy acts, musical performances to a live band and fantastic staging. Durham is a lovely city and we had a great time soaking in the atmosphere before an entertaining night.
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets cost between £6 and £17 with family tickets also available.
For tickets visit www.galadurham.co.uk or call the box office on 03000 266 600.
Leave a Reply