Review: Southampton’s Mayflower is back at the top of the panto tree

Snow White offers a massive return to panto form for Southampton’s Mayflower, a night full of magic and mayhem. The best magic perhaps was the fabulous moment Rudolph, complete with flashing nose, emerged from the darkness to pull his sleigh out over the audience. The best mayhem, without a doubt, was the night’s superb Muddles (Kev Orkian) combining with members of Diversity to sing and dance their way through a hilarious (and for Muddles, bruising) If I Were Not A… routine. But everything else in between was a delight too in a panto which looked ravishing throughout, was played with pace, style and energy and which – unlike last year’s Goldilocks – hung together beautifully and actually told a story.

Kirsty Ingram is the sweetest Snow White while Rachel Stanley is suitably villainous as The Wicked Queen. And every now and again, Christopher Biggins, no less, floats out above the stage as the Man in the Mirror. He’s a fab extra until the second half when he feels so much more part of everything that’s going on. He’s in his element as he forlornly tries to join in, milking it all beautifully.

Ashley Banjo & Diversity are sensational, just as you assume they are going to be, but the dancers in the ensemble add a huge amount of charm and colour too. But maybe the real star of it all is Kev Orkian in the comedy role, a lovely presence on the stage who strikes exactly the right tone when it comes to pumping up the audience participation. He was absolutely beautiful too with the kiddies who came up for the song-sheet section. Orkian was given a real gift tonight in the shape of four-year-old Molly who was absolutely adorable in her Snow White costume. But it took real skill to let her shine, without being overawed, in the way Orkian did.

Put it all together, and it’s a panto which puts the Mayflower right back where it belongs at the top of the panto tree – a genuinely lovely panto packed full of all the traditional panto elements but played with huge vibrancy and verve and looking sensational all the way through.