Who’s The Fairest of Them All?
★★★☆☆ Darkly pointed
Augustine United Church: Sat 8 Nov 2025
Review by Erin Frances Speirs
Who’s The Fairest of Them All?, written & directed by Holly Wagner at Erstwhile Media’s One Dramatic Night, retells Snow White, while questioning who the true villain of the story is.
Wagner’s twist on the classic tale explores vanity and how women are pitted against one another. In her version, Snow White gets her retaliation in ahead of the Evil Queen’s plans: murders her stepmother, takes over her role and inherits the Magic Mirror.
Jenna Donoghue Snow White. Pic: Erstwhile Media.
When Snow White’s own daughter, Eve, grows up, Snow White finds herself falling into the same path as her wicked step-grandmother, mesmerised by the addictive praise of the Magic Mirror.
Beautifully written for the most part, Who’s The Fairest of Them All? struggles with pacing, with later scenes dragging with unnecessary dialogue and explanations. The script flips between prose and verse, which makes sense for the voice-over dialogue from the Magic Mirror (Kyle Paton); but is confusing when it slips between the two for the main characters.
This could be a choice made to highlight the women falling into the Magic Mirror’s trap, and beginning to speak like the hypnotic looking glass. However, such a use of verse is not consistent enough in these moments alone to make it successful.
stellar performances
Overall, the direction is solid, even if the Magic Mirror’s placing on stage often obstructs the view of the actor speaking to it. Actors move around the stage with ease, utilising the entire space, including the aisle. The only downside comes when heavy dialogue is given from behind the audience.
The script is heightened by stellar performances across the cast. As well as writing and directing the piece, Holly Wagner plays both the Evil Queen and Snow White’s daughter Eve – cleverly named with its reference to the apple that almost killed her mother.
Holly Wagner (Queen) and Kyle Paton (Huntsman). Pic: Erstwhile Media
Wagner performs the Evil Queen with precision. However, there is a tendency to fall into pantomime, unfitting for this dark retelling. Nonetheless, Wagner’s performance as Eve balances the innocence and strength of this young character with truth.
Jenna Donoghue is brilliant as Snow White, transforming from an insecure and under-appreciated young girl into a vain, aloof Queen. As well as voicing the Magic Mirror, Kyle Paton also portrays The Huntsman with strength, commanding the stage.
Immersive sound design from co-director Pedro Branco pulls the audience into the magically haunting world set before them. This is bolstered by simple, yet highly effective, lighting design from Oliver Giggins that pulsates through a spectrum of colours as both the Evil Queen and Snow White become transfixed by the Magic Mirror and the vanity it sets upon them.
grim retelling
Concluding that “No one is the fairest of them all”, this grim retelling seeks to flip the blame away from the women of the Grimm original, and onto the Magic Mirror itself. It is the mirror which leads these women down a path of vanity, creating rivalries between those who should support one another.
This echoes patriarchy itself, which teaches women to be small, beautiful, and quiet; while forcing them to see other women as opponents rather than teammates. Although this message is clear within the piece, time could be taken to bolster it in the dialogue between Snow White and Eve in the final moments of the play.
The Magic Mirror might be smashed to pieces in the play’s final moments, but one piece still remains. Reflecting that we may never be free from the thrill of narcissism and being “the fairest of them all”.
Running time: 55 minutes (no interval)
Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL.
Saturday 9 November 2025,
One performance as part of One Dramatic Night: 5.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
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ENDS
