It’s not officially Christmas until you get to see a panto, right? We were over the moon to be invited along to Darlington Hippodrome again this year for the opening weekend of the fairest panto in the land… Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! 

This years show sees pop icon and musical theatre star Gareth Gates take to the stage as Prince Gareth and let me tell you, I wasn’t the only woman in the audience to give him an extra loud ‘woop’ when he walked on stage…

He’s joined by The Chase’s Vixen, Jenny Ryan, who plays an excellent part as the wicked Queen Dragonella! 

The cast also includes the wonderful Marina Lawrence-Mahrra as Snow White, the brilliant Jamie Jones as Mrs Nelly Nightnurse and funnyman Josh Benson as Muddles – with an excellent ensemble cast too, including the Magnificent Seven. 

The show pretty much followed the traditional Snow White story we all know and love, with a few twists and turns along the way. Set design and costume design were, yet again, stunning, adding so much glitz and glam to the stage! Song choices were also excellent and it was great to see a classic Gareth Gates number added in there too. 

From start to finish this panto had us in absolute stitches, a lot of which was down the incredible and hilarious Josh Benson. He was an absolute joy to watch on stage as Muddles and the star of the show for me. He had us crying laughing on several occasions and I think it’s safe to say he had the audience in the palm of his hand! 

There were also so many funny moments with a nod to The Chase for Jenny Ryan – it would be rude not to really, wouldn’t it? Bradley’s ears might be burning…

The palace duet between Prince Gareth and Queen Dragonella was a definite highlight of Act 1. Both were great and the ensemble had us in stitches! Act 2 highlight had to be Muddles’ juggling scene. Just brilliant. 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the perfect panto for all the family this Christmas. It was so wholesome and there’s just so much for all to enjoy!

The pantomime runs at Darlington Hippodrome until the 31st December 2023 and you can book your tickets online here.

Runtime is approx. 2 hours, with a short interval.

Thank you so much to the team for inviting us along, we had a wonderful night and now we’re ready for Christmas!

**Full disclosure: We were gifted tickets in exchange for this honest review.