Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs – Review – Bradford Alhambra Theatre
By Christine Goode, December 2025
Christmas is in the air and what better way to set the festive season off to a cracking start than with one of the best of British traditions – a visit to the pantomime. One of the biggest and best around has got to be at Bradford Alhambra, featuring much-loved comedian Billy Pearce, who is celebrating his 25th year as Bradford’s headliner. With this in mind, this particular production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a non-stop extravaganza that will transport you to a magical fairy-tale land. Do you want to know more? Oh, yes you do!
There is magic in the air as we enter the front-of-house area. A choir of children is singing Christmas carols while proud parents and families look on. Even the big man himself has taken time out from his busy schedule to come and visit the children. Children squeal with delight as they talk excitedly and have photos with Father Christmas. Families are bustling around, trying to juggle whirling, flashing thingamajigs along with sweets, drinks and coats whilst finding their seats in the auditorium. It is joyful chaos that we all know and love, and we would not have it any other way.
Everyone settles into their seats and then BOOM – the music starts and half of the audience, including my guest, jump out of their seats. The show starts as it means to go on – loud, sparkly and very funny. The Spirit of Pantomime is played by the very glamorous Sinitta, who introduces us to the tale. She is there to protect our new panto friends from evil curses made by the wicked Queen. She is the perfect fantasy fairy and has us clapping and singing along with her hit song ‘So Macho’ as sequin-adorned firefighters and a giant disco ball dance around her. Of course, we would not expect anything else, would we?
“Funniest double act”
Next up, at high speed and steaming in on a little train, are the seven dwarfs, known as the Magnificent Seven. The audience cheer as they quickly introduce themselves, with youngsters in the audience going wild when they say “6–7” (the latest trend for kids, don’t ask! I have Googled it and am still none the wiser).
At last, our hero is here, Billy, who this year is the Man in the Mirror – a refreshing change, as the mirror is brought to life and made an integral part of the story. With a costume to die for, he is like a singing, dancing glitterball. The evil Queen Lucretia is played by drag queen Myra Dubois, who is superb and has us in stitches with her quick-witted humour and fabulous outfits. The chemistry between her and Billy is hilarious and they make the funniest double act. We all know good outweighs evil, and our Princess Snow White is no exception. Sarah Pearson takes on the role this year and brings our magical fairy-tale princess to life, with a bit of northern humour sprinkled on top for good measure. Her love interest, Prince William of Wakefield, is played by Callum Connolly, who is the perfect dashing young prince.
“Magic and splendour”
The dance numbers are spectacular, with beautiful costumes that would not look out of place in a lavish Hollywood movie, catchy songs and great choreography. There is plenty of magic throughout the show, and not one but two spectacular, jaw-dropping moments, but if I spilled the beans it would spoil the surprise. The comedy has also been ramped up to another level this year, with plenty of over-the-head jokes for the adults and lots of farty jokes for the kids. There were also a few blunders in there, but this all adds to the fun.
The show runs for two hours and twenty minutes, which is quite a long time for young children to sit still. However, the time simply flies by as we are all captivated by the magic and splendour of this Christmas tradition. The people sitting around me were having a great time and mentioned at the end how much their cheeks hurt from laughing!
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs at Bradford Alhambra until 18 January
images: Phil Tragen
Christine Goode founded her own dance school – The May School of Dance & Theatre Arts over three decades ago. Her dedication to teaching and love of dance, has created many successful artists in the industry, and she is delighted that many of her former students have now returned with their children, allowing them to also discover this beautiful art. She has choreographed, produced and directed shows over the last 36 years, and is devoted to all live theatre and music. Now in her third year of writing about her obsession with the arts, Christine loves to encourage everyone to see as much live theatre as possible.
maydanceschool.co.uk
