An imaginative and energetic ‘Snow White,’ led by a pair of dynamic performances, awakens at Young People’s Theatre

Snow White

Written by Greg Banks, music composed by Victor Zupanc and directed by Aurora Browne. Based on the traditional fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Until Jan. 7 at Young People’s Theatre, 165 Front St. E. youngpeoplestheatre.org or 416-862-2222

How do you perform a 14-character story with only two actors?

That’s the conundrum faced by the titular princess and one of the seven dwarves at the top of “Snow White,” the imaginative play-within-a-play adaptation of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tale, now running at Young People’s Theatre.

Snow White and the seven dwarves are meant to recount their story in front of a live audience. Problem is, six of the dwarves are missing.

“Have any of you seen six shortish looking men wandering around, carrying pick axes, whistling a little tune … looking a bit lost … have you? … Anyone?” Four, the sole dwarf present (Ken Hall on opening night, sharing the role with Herbie Barnes throughout the run), shouts into the audience.

But they are nowhere to be found, much to Four’s dismay. Still, Snow White insists (Amanda Cordner on opening night, with JD Leslie at certain performances), with her bubbly can-do attitude, that the two of them must continue. How? They’ll play all the characters: from the evil stepmother and the huntsman to the prince and, yes, even all seven dwarves.

That’s the madcap frame through which this story-within-the-story is presented. Written by Greg Banks and brilliantly directed by Aurora Browne, the result is a theatrical two-hander that is sharp, smart and always entertaining.

Much of the production’s success can be attributed to the dynamic duo that is Hall and Cordner. Banks’ adaptation often breaks the fourth wall. The level of audience participation almost feels like that of pantomime and both Cordner and Hall handle it with impeccable comedic timing. When several clever audience interjections were hurled at the stage on opening night Thursday, the pair improvised their way out with aplomb.

Browne’s staging is bracingly kinetic and the pair is onstage for almost the entirety of the show. With nothing more than a few costume accessories, they change characters on a dime — and often mid-scene.

With the addition of a shawl, Cordner, as Snow White, transforms into the evil stepmother, whose vanity and want to be the fairest person in the land compels her to murder little Snow White. In one ingenious sequence, Cordner flips the shawl from her shoulders to Hall’s, who then becomes the stepmother, playing her with equal egotistical menace.

When it’s time for Four to portray all six of the other dwarves, Hall almost stops the show. With nothing more than a blue hat and some exceptional physical comedy, he flashes across the stage, firing off lines and, at the turn of the hat, slickly transforming into the other men.

It’s this spirit of playful imagination that drives the show. Brandon Kleiman’s set is populated with several trees and a stump near an open playing space at downstage centre. But, with few props, Browne pushes the audience to use their imaginations and fill out this fantastical world, which is never difficult thanks to Cordner and Hall, who so clearly delineate between all 14 characters.

Banks’ adaptation honours the original tale by the Brothers Grimm — some lines are pulled directly from the story — but also colours it in to add further depth and contemporary resonance. If in the ur-text, Snow White comes across as too naive in the way she fails to learn her lesson after her stepmother attempts to kill her — not just once but twice — Banks draws a character that is more layered, less a fairy-tale damsel in distress.

In this iteration, you come to understand why Snow White continues to open the door for the Old Beggar Woman — her stepmother in disguise — despite the repeated warnings from the seven men. She’s conflicted, but it’s ultimately her kindness and “heart as pure as snow” that pushes her to put herself in harm’s way.

Though this “Snow White” was developed with children in mind, it’s ultimately the welcome revisions, which add shades of complexity to the story, that make this production thoughtful, charming and highly entertaining for audiences of all ages.