This carnivalesque exploration of the tale of Snow White was admirably committed in its aesthetic, with costumes, face paint inventive use of props and live music all paying tribute to those travelling theatre companies that revelled in the grotesque and fantastical. I would go as far to say that
I would go as far to say that The Girl Who Cannot Die was a visual feast, with poster-worthy imagery popping up in every scene – memorably the Godmother being consumed by a silver cloth and Snow White being ensnared in a ‘corset’.
The strong elements of physical theatre and ensemble work were brilliantly effective in the subject matter, with cast members effortlessly levitating and contorting their bodies to convey plot points. Unfortunately, these gilded surface values of the piece couldn’t make up for the disappointing lack of original storytelling. Captivating aspects of the story were set up from the start – quite apart from the 'Girl Who Cannot Die', we had placards announcing ‘The Man with Two Brains’ and ‘The Clown’ – characters that were set up for an exciting entrance but never really materialised. The shady showman who saved Snow White and now exploits her death defying nature as a side-show ‘freak’ barely surfaced after the introduction, especially not in any particular relevance to the plot. Unfortunately, the show was less ‘Girl Who Cannot Die’ and more of an unoriginal retelling of a classical fairytale – something that popular culture is so saturated with currently that we just lose interest.
Another example of a piece that was sparkling at conception but didn’t explore the full potential, the heady aesthetics of The Girl Who Cannot Die unfortunately weren’t enough to salvage an unnecessarily bland narrative.
