Roundhouse Theatre, La Boite
September 9, 2016

The theatre is swathed in mist. Mirrors and empty frames hang from the ceiling and lights twinkle through gnarled bare branches. A red stain – a pool of blood – glistens in the centre of the stage like an open wound. When the actors take the stage, from four different compass points, the mirrors they hold beam penetrating shafts of light through the mist.

Snow White, a reimagining of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale by director Lindy Hume, composer Zulya Kamalova and librettist Suzie Miller, is a dark, edgy piece of musical theatre that focuses on the relationship between the Queen and her – in this case biological – daughter Snow White. Dripping with sex and blood, the drama centres around the Queen’s realisation, first horrified then despairing, that her 15-year-old daughter has become exactly the person she was at the same age.

Stephanie Picket as Snow White. Photo © Dylan Evans

Contemporary vocalist and songwriter Stephanie Pickett makes for a volatile Snow White, switching smoothly between innocent schoolgirl, screaming teenager and would-be seductress. She watches, fascinated, as her mother (mezzo-soprano and cooking show host Silvia Colloca) dances...