Yahoo News Tyne Theatre's Snow White is charming to the core as Gazza's son shines in Newcastle panto
If fancy a bite of top notch pantomime action over Christmas and New Year, get yourself along to see Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs in Newcastle; a show which has quickly become the apple of the Tyne Theatre's eye this festive season and deservedly so.
I will not stand for any shouts of 'oh no we don't!' as the festive season just would not be complete without a trip to at least one panto and, the Tyne Theatre has a production that ticks all the boxes on everything you'd want from one.
The famous Westgate Road venue soared to new heights last year, quite literally, as Peter Pan became, for me, it's best pantomime to date, with some stunning flying sequences and a cast brimming with talent. And while the action is kept firmly on the ground in this year's offering, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, it's still just as entertaining and its stars shine to great aplomb.
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The Tyne has been getting plenty of bums on seats for decades now, thanks to it offering a really traditional panto and, Snow White has bags of Geordie humour, dazzling costumes, some brilliant song selections and what screams Newcastle more than having Gazza's son in one of the lead roles?!
Nearly three years on from him winning Dancing on Ice, Regan Gascoigne proves that he doesn't need a pair of skates to impress as he does dashing very well as Prince Gazza of Gosforth; with all the charisma of his famous dad, great stage presence and a brilliant singing voice, which is showcased to great effect in numbers like a duet of Billie Eilish's Birds of a Feather and solo star turn - an impressive cover of Richard Marx's epic powerballad Right Here Waiting.
Regan is at his best in his scenes alongside Grace Ann Davison. The North East performer won a Search for a Star competition to land the title role and, it takes just a few moments of her being on stage to see why. In addition to inhabiting all the qualities you need for the perfect pantomime princess, Grace brings real whit and strength to the part and, like Regan, her vocals are truly top notch, helping Girls Just Want to Have Fun and the aforementioned Birds of a Feather real highlights.
Like the Theatre Royal just up the road, the Tyne Theatre has a double act that its pantomimes just wouldn't be the same without. Step forward Lewis Denny and Charlie Richmond. As well as having brilliant camaraderie and chemistry with each other in every scene they share, both Charlie and Lewis have an effortless ability to engage an audience and have you hooked and fully invested in everything they do from start to finish. They are the kind of duo anyone pantomime director would be lucky to have.
This year starring as Muddles, Charlie cracks jokes that can be appreciated by audience members of all ages, while as vivacious Dame of the equation, Dotty, Lewis is both glamorous and gregarious from the second he makes his entrance.
Moving onto the 'baddie' of the hours and you'll be pushed to find any wicked queen as striking as Penelope McDonald, who laces every one of her bits of dialogue and movements with vampish venom, as she revels in the obligatory boos she invites.
Cast as her henchmen, Britain's Got Talent's Twist & Pulse show precisely why they saw off all their rivals to be crowned the ITV show's Champion of Champions series. As well as having bags of personality and great comic timing, Ashley and Glen's dance moves demand just as much attention now as they did when they auditioned for BGT all those years, making their Megamix, combining everything from Enrique Iglesias' Hero to Wicked a stand out moment.
Snow White would be nothing without her Dwarfs and the seven strong collective are scene stealers every time they're in the spotlight, led with real conviction by Sandra Maria Germann as head of the gang Shearer.
In cast blessed with loads of star quality, its pro dancers and young ensemble also have a huge part to play in Snow White's success, helping to make it anything but rotten and, instead, a pantomime that is charming to the core.
