Charlotte Conybeare (English 2022) is thrilled to be directing this year’s student pantomime, Snow White, at the ADC Theatre.

Charlotte first stumbled into the world of student theatre through her passion for photography, taking cast and crew headshots for productions. Her increasing familiarity with the theatre world encouraged her to try out further roles, including as a lighting designer, an ensemble performer in the 2024 production of Sweeney Todd, and a director.

“Directing is my favourite role in theatre,” she says. “It’s nice because you get to work on a project in the long term and get quite a big say in crafting the atmosphere and the community of the show. My favourite part of doing panto has been seeing everyone support one another and bounce off each other’s ideas.”

Student-written comedy is Charlotte’s favourite material to direct. She says: “There’s something very special about getting to work with the people who wrote the show. It’s great to be able to ask what they were thinking! It also gives you a little more creative licence, since you can talk to the writers if something doesn’t land with your particular cast. I find that extra flexibility really rewarding.”

Charlotte feels that developing her understanding of how pantomime works as an art form has increased her appreciation of the genre and has encouraged her “to lean into the childhood nostalgia and the magic, because the magic element is what I love about theatre more generally”. Alongside building on her previous experience of directing comedy, Charlotte is also keen to utilise what she has learned from her technical theatre roles, incorporating a range of exciting effects into the show.

As director, Charlotte has overseen the coordination of work across the different departments working on Snow White, and she is delighted by the high levels of enthusiasm and commitment she has seen from everyone involved. “Everyone who has worked on this show has put so much love into it,” she says. “Every single song in the show has been crafted with excitement. The set is gorgeous and will look absolutely magical. Our incredible tech team have worked so hard. The cast are so funny, and the writing is just brilliant. It’s such a privilege to get to work with all these kind, creative, awesome people!”

Snow White will run from Wednesday 27 November to Saturday 7 December. Details of show times and ticket links can be found on the ADC Theatre website.