Pantomine Review: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - Alhambra, Bradford

Fake snow falling outside the theatre, a school choir singing Christmas carols as you enter the Alhambra and an energetic, youthful atmosphere can only mean one thing: its panto time!

Appearing in his 16th pantomime at the Alhambra, Billy Pearce can still pull in the large audiences. The Bradford panto is renowned for being one of the best ones in the north of England: it has a good reputation which is justified by this colourful, entertaining and magical production.

Joining Billy Pearce as Muddles is former X Factor winner Joe McElderry who plays the Spirit of the Mirror; he enters the stage via a flying mirror singing Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror!

It is a past paced show, within the first 8 minutes McElderry has swung from inside his mirror, Billy Pearce has made a grand entrance via a suspended platform and the dancers along with the famous Bradford sunbeams have sung and danced to this years big hit, Happy by Pharrell Williams.

Jenny Gayner portrays Queen Sadista convincingly and her costumes were as sleek as her performance. David o'Mahony as Prince Benedict was charming whilst Charlotte Haines as Snow White seemed part Katy Perry and part Miss Innocent; at first her voice did not seem suited to the aforementioned song Happy but she soon settled into the track.

Adam Stafford as Dame Betty Blumenthal was the comic partner to Billy Pearce throughout the evening. Their routine of how to chat up the ladies was very funny and well written.

The special effects were breathtaking with Billy Pearce driving a magic car in the first half of the panto, the car rises out over the audience in the stalls, whilst in the second half Queen Sadista is riding a giant flying Pterodactyl over the audience!

Pearce rolls around the stage so much so that he tears the bottom in his trousers besides also literally walking up the side of the stage and across the top and back down the other side.

Some of the more "adult" jokes went over the top of the heads of the younger members of the audience and quite rightly so. This is a show for young and old.

Judging by all the smiling happy faces that could be seen on leaving the Alhambra it seemed like the icing on the cake to celebrate the theatres 100th birthday and you can be sure that next year Billy Pearce will be back for his 17th appearance at the Alhambra. A real tonic of a show and one which upholds Bradford's accolade of the premier panto in the North.

Runs until 25 January 2015. Tickets from: http://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/