Review: Snow White pantomime by All Souls Dramatic Club at The Atkinson, Southport, by Andrew Brown
Christmas never sleeps in Southport. And why should it? It’s a fun time of year, and we all love it!
Last Sunday, I was outside Silcock’s Funland on the Promenade as hundreds of runners wearing Santa suits sprinted past, while Christmas songs played in the background.
They were all part of the annual Santa Sprint for Queenscourt Hospice. Even the paddle boarders in Marine Lake were wearing festive fancy dress.
This Saturday I was with my wife and two daughters as we watched the Snow White pantomime by All Souls Dramatic Club at The Atkinson in Southport.
Do we really love Christmas in Southport? Oh, yes we do!
There can’t be many, if any, towns or cities in the UK which stage three different pantomimes over the Christmas season, Most places don’t even get one.
It’s always a challenge for All Souls because theirs is staged in January, following on from the LHK Productions panto at The Atkinson and the SDC panto at Southport Little Theatre.
It means that theirs has to be really good for people to want to go after having two earlier productions on offer.
It seems us Sandgrounders just can’t get enough of panto dames, heroes and villains, ‘he’s behind you’ shouts, crazy costumes, bad jokes, ghost sketches, big dance numbers and happy ever after endings.
Snow White had all of these, and then some.
We booked the last four tickets in the Saturday matinee sell-out show, and the packed auditorium spoke volumes for the quality of the show.
People locally know how superb the All Souls panto is. They can’t wait to see it. As a family, we always look forward to it with huge excitement. It sets very high standards, you always walk away wondering how they are going to top it all the following year.
January is a great time for a panto. We walked into The Atkinson on a freezing cold, dark, blustery day, to be quickly warmed by the rich entertainment on offer.
We all need cheering up during the year’s grimmest month. It’s great for the town too, bringing lots of families into the town centre, creating customers for local shops, cafes, restaurants and other local businesses.
The All Souls production is always very modern, creative, inventive, musical, and funny.
This is panto created by people who live, breathe and dream about it.
There is so much thought that goes into every aspect of their productions, from casting, to performance, choreography, music, lighting, staging, sound, props, musicians, costumes, backstage and more. The group provides a stage for performers of all ages, a real family that allows aspiring young performers to grow and learn.
The audience was delighted (mostly) to be fully involved throughout – the lucky ones among us singing, clapping and cheering, the unlucky ones in the seats at the front getting a good soaking during the kitchen sketch!
There were lots of very strong performances on stage – there are some superb singers in the cast, as well as some very funny comedic actors.
The songs were modern and carefully chosen, with the Slumdog Millionaire song Jai Ho a fantastic alternative to Hi Ho for the Seven Dwarves.
There were enough jokes to fill a Christmas cracker factory, for people of all ages; the slapstick, the very risky ones which went over children’s heads and straight to the adults and the time-bombs which left some laughing five seconds after the joke landed.
There were lots of funny local references too, making fun of Wigan, the lack of free parking or Southport being a Burger King free zone.
The ;Mirror, Mirror On The Wall’ comforted the evil queen by suggesting maybe it wasn’t a real mirror, but a fairground one from the Silcock’s Funland Hall of Mirrors.
The story is superb. They’ve given it an excellent twist on ‘true love’s kiss’ waking Snow White.
I won’t give away the plot. But having attended the panto with my own daughters, I have to firmly agree with the story’s conclusion.
This is a truly outstanding pantomime, from the very talented All Souls Dramatic Club.
As a family, we look forward excitedly to their shows year after year. They never fail to impress.
- Snow White by All Souls Dramatic Club is at The Atkinson Theatre, Lord Street, Southport town centre between January 12th and 22nd 2023 with some matinee performances available. People can book in person at the box office, book online at theatkinson.co.uk or call 01704 533 333.
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