Press launch: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, New Victoria Theatre Woking
Photo credits: Ian Olsson
It might have been the hottest day of the year, Besties, but a couple of weeks ago, we were in pantoland for the launch of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this year’s panto at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. We weren’t at the theatre but at Newbridge Cottage in the countryside, although there didn’t seem to be any dwarfs in residence (they’ve not been cast yet!) Snow White wasn’t able to join us either, but Surplus to Supper made sure everyone was well fed. Waiting to welcome us were most of the leading cast members including Rob Rinder as the Man in the Mirror and Scott Maurice as Prince William of Westfield.
Aaron James (Muddles the Jester) told us about his panto career, from his first professional appearance. “I started as a traditional comedian and I was working in a holiday camp when I was 18; I did my first summer season and then got offered a pantomime that Christmas with Joe Pasquale, a touring pantomime. We went all over over the country doing that show.” Life for a comedian in those days followed a pattern. “It was pantomime in the winter and then summer season, with working men's clubs and stuff in between.” Aaron didn’t do another panto until he was asked to appear at Wolverhampton in 2019 and loved it. Since then he has played many of the major comic roles in panto including Idle Jack, Simple Simon and, as this year, Muddles in Snow White. It’s a role he loves: “The rest of the year it’s just me on stage, as a comedian. In panto, you’re part of a team, and I love it when we’re all out there bouncing off each other.”
The leading member of that team at Woking is panto legend Lesley Joseph as Queen Dragonella. She’s played Fairy Godmothers and Wicked Queens in recent years, and we asked her what attracts her to the evil characters. “I love it because it’s a dramatic part with comedy. The thing about panto is that you work with an audience. They laugh, you can pull them in, then you can shoot something nasty back at them and you really bounce off them. I love that. I think it's nicer to play a villain than playing a Good Fairy.” Different audiences react in varying ways of course. “If it's a schools matinee, they can boo as much as they like to begin with, but you'll win them round in the end because they can't just boo all the time. They want to hear the story and that's the thing about a pantomime, it does tell a story.”
Lesley also told us she is in no doubt about the value of pantomime. “I love panto. I think it's a really special time because it’s for families, and also, you know, things are not always that easy for them. It brings people into theatres too: it's really important.”
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs plays at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking from 5 December 2025 - 4 January 2026, with tickets available here.