Check out this amazing review from The Bishop’s Stortford Independent!

‘It was the perfect day for a panto. The weather was cold, crisp and without a hint of breeze as we took the short, familiar, family walk to South Mill Arts.

The venue always looks good in the lighting of the night and especially welcoming with the literal red carpet rolled out and a Christmassy dressing in the foyer and bar area .

The environment never fails and feels warm and welcoming to all ages. A testament to Giles Gear’s venue team and the legacy of the recently retired operations director, Paula Holland.

This was the fourth year in a row for me, wife Nicola and the kids, Izzy and Michael, to attend one of Ian McFarlane‘s productions. It’s his sixth year as a writer, producer and director of the Christmas show at South Mill Arts, and he and his team have definitely found a recipe that works.

The cast and crew are yet to under deliver, and this year, with Snow White, was no exception.

The show opens with the “evil” queen, played by Etta Williams, playing to the crowd and setting the stage. I shouldn’t have a favourite in the panto and it really shouldn’t be the “baddie”, but the familiar face of Etta has become a reassuring sign of good things to come. Etta’s Evil Queen has both young and old engaged throughout and it plays the foil to Snow White to perfection.

The show, of course, centres around Snow White, played by Rebecca Rolle. She is every inch as cheer-filled and uplifting as is needed to counter the Queen. Her natural warmth radiated from the first moment to the last, and the children in the audience were rooting for her throughout.

Ned Doherty plays the dashing Prince Leo. Prince Leo‘s role is more than just a love interest to Snow White, and he provides balance for her our heroine while delivering some wonderful singing and crowd work.

Nathan French plays Dexter-or, to give him his full name, Dexter Derek Digory Dorian Darius Darcy Donovan Devon Dimitri. Dexter plays a wonderful friend to all, keeps the story and characters linked and flowing, while engaging the audience with fun one-liners. 

Snow White‘s journey through this well-worked story wouldn’t be possible without the ensemble and junior ensemble cast. Emily-May Palmer (Goldilocks), Harvey Westwood (Jack of beanstalk fame) and Finn Williams (Pied Piper) all possess great stage presence and keep the audience laughing.

The witty writing has a clear nod to the local area as well as poking fun at national and international news, with jokes for all ages, which saw my teen kids laughing at lines I had missed!

The writing was complimented by an excellent and varied musical selection. Reworked classics from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat and The Greatest Showman, along with KPop and Pink Pony Club and more, meant that toes were tapping and hands were clapping among all ages.

All of the cast, crew and venue staff are to be applauded for their work here. This is a production worthy of any national stage, and we should continue to thank our lucky stars that this facility exists in the heart of the town, providing such good family entertainment and at a much cheaper rate than having to travel to London or even Hertford.

Will Snow White get her princess license and thwart the evil queen? Will there be a happily-ever-after? Well, I guess you’ll have to go and see for yourselves.’