Cracked Review: ‘the queer show we need right now’
Cracked (Snow White... with extra bite) is playing at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern until 6 January 2023.
By TL Wiswell
The holidays are here and with it the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s annual adult pantomime. This time the fairy tale in question is Snow White, but with Tim Benzie and Paul Joseph, and director Tim McArthur’s magical touch.
Thus we have Cracked (Snow White… with extra bite) – a queered up and glitter-fied take focusing on the Magic Mirror (Charlie Wood), who’s in a bind because it’s been telling so many lies to the Wicked Queen (Stewart Briggs) that it’s started to crack. The poor Mirror is only three cracks away from permanent destruction, but if it tells the truth, the Queen will destroy it instantly!
Hope is at hand, however, with the seven merry magic mirror smiths who have apparently been displaced from their mines, and Sleepy, played by RVT stalwart Lucy Penrose, might be able to repair the damage. But the Wicked Queen is suspicious – why have both Snow White (Grant Cartwright) and her mirror disappeared? With a little help from her axe-happy Huntsman (Josh Singh Sian), things descend into pure farce with all manner of deep fake mirrors, tomfoolery, and all the restyled pop songs you could wish for.
Cartwright brings to Princess Snow a ditzy, occasionally smutty elegance, with legs for days and a brassy persona that’s far more personable than the usual panto lead. Sian is villainously enthusiastic in wanting to separate heads from bodies, but it’s all tempered with comedy as he chases the Princess he meets right about at crotch level.
However, Charlie Wood is the real star here as their worries about both lying and the possibility of being shattered out of existence actually brought far more pathos to the Mirror’s character than thought possible. And more fun is to be expected as the new queen, Briggs, settles in.
Mixed in with all of this was an endless series of joyous songs, from Kate Bush to Dua Lipa with some ABBA along the way. And while there’s on-point and relevant satire, Cracked is prepared to give us the happy endings we need in these difficult times. Hearts are matched, knots tied, and there’s a big sing-a-long at wrap it all up.
The RVT’s pantos have differentiated themselves over the years. Not just for a tight and talented cast, but for witty writing that takes on the issues that affect its audience. Once again they’ve provided the queer show we need right now.
Cracked (Snow White… with extra bite) is playing at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern until 6 January 2023. Get tickets here.