“So much potential, so little polish.”
BalletLORENT’s Snow White is visually captivating but fails to achieve its full potential. Immersed in this fairytale world, viewers’ bear witness as vanity drives the Queen to unthinkable darkness. Following Snow White into a new life with the local Miners’, this reimagining is charming but lacks maturity in both movement and performance.
Liv Lorent and Carol Ann Duffy’s updated narrative is memorably unnerving while also being inviting and amusing. It leans into the Grimm origins of the story and keeps the audience on its toes. The narrative dialogue is relevant, well-timed, and well-written. There are several very intelligent alterations to the familiar story that make it more palatable to modern viewers. The ending feels rushed and insufficiently thought out,
disappointing given the overall success of the story. Phil Eddolls, Set Designer, is a genius. Eddolls’ set is of the highest calibre being both aesthetically and functionally astounding. Just one set piece brought the Queen’s castle, the dark woods, and the whimsical home of the Miners to life. Malcolm Rippeths’ lighting design brilliantly signified the passage of time, making the eighteen year timeline flow seamlessly. Costume Designer’s Libby El-Alfy and Nasir Mazhar impressed with their simple yet beautiful designs. Their reflective Mirror creation was particularly memorable.
There is a charming, childlike quality to the Snow White choreography with eye catching moments such as the Queen and the Mirror duet. Lorent did excel in choreographing the use of the set and props. Every use of the set was purposeful and added to the story. Unfortunately the movement lacked cohesion and the ensemble work was never clean. Overall, Liv Lorent’s choreography disappointed. There was interesting, if limited, phrase work, notably the King’s death and the Huntsman’s solo.
If I were told that the dancer’s improvised the entire show, I would wholeheartedly believe it. It felt more like pictures strung together than a complete dance theatre piece. The cast of Snow White exuded personality. The ensemble cast was very lively but did suffer some shortcomings in technique and timing. Every dancer had their own distinct style which was lovely but often pushed them out of sync. Virginia Scudeletti delighted as Snow White. Her spritely fluidity and naivete were well-suited to the young princess; her characterization did lack some depth, especially in the second act. Caroline Reece gave a haunting but somewhat flat performance as the Queen. Technically remarkable, she exuded grace but held the same slightly off-kilter expression for the majority of the performance. John Kendall gave a captivating and swoon-worthy performance as the Huntsman. It’s fitting that the shining star of this story be the Mirror. Danced by Aisha Naamani, the Mirror was remarkable in costume, choreography, and quality of movement. Despite not being able to see her face, Naamani’s emotions and intentions were fully visible in all of her movements. A brilliantly designed role danced by a brilliant dancer.
An interesting and well-designed concept that wasn’t executed to the best of its ability. It has a messy, improvised quality that would brilliantly suit a panto but is disconcerting in a piece of this kind. Despite some choreographic and performance pitfalls, BalletLORENT’s Snow White is an enjoyable physical theatre.