Whiter Than Snow
Whiter Than Snow is the story of the Frantz family
travelling players, all persons of restricted growth, or as Frieda, the
daughter of the piece points out, ‘short’. Accompanied by Vera, the
family Sign Language Interpreter and Sam, their loyal stage manager,
they move from place to place with their show, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Except that in their version it is Snow White and the four dwarfs, because “the other three got a better offer”.
As well as performing the Snow White play-within-a-play,
they tell the story of what happens when they meet Regina, a scientist
obsessed with eugenics, and her clone ‘daughter’ Eirwin. This setup is
confusing at first and may require whispered explanations by the
parents of younger children, but clever staging and an engaging story
soon clear up any misunderstandings.
For the benefit of blind or deaf audience members, the action is
described as it takes place and Vera signs along with everyone’s lines.
Rather than this distracting from the storytelling, as one might fear,
it is integral to the play and handled with great humour. Jude Mahon’s
Vera is gleefully naughty and hugely likeable.
The story is all important in this production, making Whiter Than Snow
an enjoyable piece of theatre at the very simplest level. But Graeae go
beyond mere storytelling and drop ideas into the action that will make
children and adults alike reconsider their attitudes to a broad range
of topics, including ‘normality’, eugenics, and home. They succeed in
stimulating debate without ever becoming didactic. The honesty and
humour with which the company address their differences is refreshing
to watch.
There are a couple of moments when triteness filters through, the
‘family song’ being a case in point. There is no need for it and lyrics
such as “We’ll never be all the same” undermine the wit and subtlety of
the rest of the script. It would be better to lose it altogether and
allow the excellent storytelling to speak for itself.
Not everyone in the cast shines, but Tom Thomasson, who doubles as
Sam and Regina, is highly skilled and totally believeable in both
roles. Kiruna Stamell leads the company as Frieda and gives a
performance that is at once sensitive and very funny.
Graeae’s aim is to showcase the excellence of disabled artists and
this show does exactly that. More importantly however it tells a
wonderful story that will captivate audiences of all ages. Roll up,
roll up, to the “Biggest Littlest Show in the World”.
– Jo Caird
