Aris Theatre’s ‘Snow White’ turns a classic fairy tale on its head with zany humor

Panto is a style of holiday family show traditionally performed in Great Britain that combines well-known stories with elements of audience participation, farce, dance, music, cross-dressed characters and slapstick comedy. Because Aris Theatre’s mission is to bring British and Irish theater arts to Atlanta audiences, the troupe will present its third holiday panto program, Snow White & the Seven Morphs, at Academy Theatre in Hapeville December 11 through December 28. 

For those theatergoers who’ve already run the local gamut of holiday offerings, Aris’ annual panto gives you a chance to add a new, wackier holiday tradition to the season, said Rob Shaw-Smith, the show’s writer-director.

“It’s not The Nutcracker, and it’s not Scrooge,” he said in an interview. “It is a completely different offering that is about telling familiar stories in a fun and silly way.”

Pantos aren’t too weighty, according to Shaw-Smith. They’re broadly comic with modern humor, localized references and parody songs. The audience is prompted to play along with the show using cue cards; the crowd at a panto is expected to engage with the material, not just passively watch it.

British audiences have been trained for generations to watch panto. But the cast and crew at Aris are prepared to teach Atlanta crowds how to have fun with a new style of theater. 

“Panto has a predictability to it,” Shaw-Smith said. “Because if [audiences] come to two or three pantos, they know what they’re in for. And it will be the same type of show every year. But it is different stories every year.”

Aris previously tackled Cinderella and Aladdin. This year, the troupe is turning Snow White on its head.

In the twisted tale, Snow White (Olivia Drumgoole) flees from her horrible stepmother, the Evil Queen (Ken Johnston) and finds solace with the Seven Morphs, an ever-changing series of surprising characters. Demmarie Boreland and Phil Mann are very involved stagehands helping the story.

“In British panto, it is absolutely shameless what they do,” Shaw-Smith said. “But it still will leave you with that Christmas feeling.”

The fun of the annual panto lies in its zany humor, he continued.

“We’re not serving the same turkey every year,” he said. “The Nutcracker is pretty much the same every year, and it’s exactly the same music and the same kind of cultural protein every year. The point about the panto is that it actually evolves every year. The jokes are different every time. It is never going to be the same show. We always rewrite it. The jokes are always different. The local humor that we infuse and the songs that we choose are different every year. So audiences are not getting the exact same thing.”

Academy Theatre is a great place to experience a new tradition as well, the director said. The space is beautiful and historic, which makes what happens on its stage to Snow White all the more surprising.

“Our Snow White knows how to bring the audience into the joy of a new theater experience,” Shaw-Smith said.

Where & When

Aris Theatre’s Snow White & the Seven Morphs is at Academy Theatre in Hapeville December 11 through the 28. Tickets start at $18.50.
599 N. Central Ave., Hapeville.