The festive season is well and truly upon us, and once again, drag production company TuckShop have returned with a chaotic panto which is as camp as Christmas itself. Snow White is their fifth pantomime, so you may have caught one before, or perhaps one of their others shows, which include Gals Aloud, The Diana Mixtape and the Death Drop murder mysteries.
Their shows usually feature a selection of queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – this year we have Kyran Thrax, Kitty Scott-Claus, Tayris Mongardi and Kate Butch. We also have drag king Oliver Clothezoff, who competed on this year’s Great British Bake Off, and some returning regulars from past TuckShop pantomimes including Yshee Black and Ophelia Love.
So what’s it all about? Well, notionally it’s a retelling of the classic Snow White fairytale, although the show’s writers – Kate Butch, Crudi Dench and Eleanor Mason – have used a fair amount of artistic licence; we certainly don’t remember this much swearing, smut or choreography from the story we grew up with.
We’ll say this right away: the show is absolute chaos. It is loud, brash, and incredibly stupid; the fourth wall doesn’t really exist; audience participation is absolutely a prerequisite; there are a few lines slipped here and there, some off-the-cuff jokes, and occasionally our actors completely corpse on stage. And you know what? It’s really very funny to watch.
We think the venue makes a difference – the Emerald Theatre is an intimate space with the audience on three sides; nobody is more than a few rows from the action. This proximity between the actors and audience generates a palpable energy in the room, and the slightly ad lib nature of the show creates a sense of (highly enjoyable) danger: no one is quite sure what’s going to happen next, or whether they might be involved.
There are some great performances to be had here, too. Kyran Thrax is absolutely electrifying as the Wicked Queen – she has a magnetic presence, and is a perfect fit for the panto villain. Kitty Scott-Claus brings warmth and humour to proceedings, and as the show’s narrator, just about manages to keep proceedings on track. There are a lot of live vocals in this show and for the most part we were rather impressed, in particular with Tiana Biscuit’s powerhouse performance in act two.
There really is a lot to enjoy in this all-drag production of Snow White – no, it’s not polished, in fact it’s frequently chaotic and a bit messy – but that’s all part of the fun; it makes for a great night out.
GAY TIMES gives Snow White – 4/5
More information can be found here.
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