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An Evening with Dame Granny Smith

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 4 Published: 6 Aug 2025 Underbelly, George Square Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-25 Aug 2025

There’s a simple way to judge how good a ventriloquist is: check who the audience is watching when the “puppet” is supposedly talking. If their eyes are on the puppet, everything’s going swimmingly; if it’s the performer, they’ve got a problem.

Dame Granny Smith is – literally – a real apple

Thankfully, David Salter has absolutely nothing to fear on that score. From the moment she’s introduced, the audience in The Wee Coo venue are totally focused on hearing the lifetime recollections and razor-sharp put-downs from the imperious, self-centred Dame Granny Smith.

As she takes command of the stage, Salter is seemingly left floundering as a somewhat inexperienced and uncertain interviewer. It’s clear early on that this particular “grande dame” of stage and screen – whose vaudeville debut at age five (days) eventually led to her being picked to play the poisoned apple in Disney’s original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs back in 1937 – isn’t one to take prisoners in her anecdotes or let loyalty to Pam (her former personal assistant of 24 years) get in her way.

All this despite one obvious and unavoidable fact – Dame Granny Smith is – literally – a real apple, with her blank eyes and mouth flap the work of a few minutes with a peeler. Salter holds her in his hand, operating the mouth flap with his thumb. It’s obvious how it’s done – and yet we can’t help but “buy” the situation and the reality of her character.

It helps, of course, that Salter is a naturally funny performer. It helps too that his show is filled with clever one-liners and comedic lines that stretch through the hour, building to a conclusion that takes things in a deliciously unexpected direction, ensuring An Evening with Dame Granny Smith is ultimately much more than a show with a single punchline – great though that punchline undoubtedly is.

The twist is done lightly, with surprising subtlety, but gives the show emotional heart and really stays with you. Simply put, the result is a show that has as much to say about the art of ventriloquism as it does about the jaded vanities of an old theatrical star who is (frankly) well beyond her sell-by date. That’s a delicate balance to keep, but Salter makes it feel easy.

And he even manages to play – albeit with assistance from an audience member – a ukulele. Brilliant.

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The Blurb:

The world's most celebrated apple returns for an intimate on-stage conversation. From her vaudeville debut at age five to her breakthrough role in Disney's Snow White, Dame Smith will take you on a journey through her storied life and career, all told with her trademark candour and wit. Warm, funny, uplifting, absurd and 'a show you'll remember for many years to come' (GlamAdelaide.com.au). 'One of the funniest shows I've seen for years' (Alan Davies). 'This is the new breed of ventriloquist performers' *****(SuchCliché.com). Winner – Best Variety, Adelaide Fringe 2025.