A theatre has hit back after reportedly removing the word 'dwarfs' from its pantomime production of Snow White for fear it would cause offence.
De Montfort Hall in Leicester is said to have told the media that Snow White will instead be accompanied by seven "friends" because dwarf is “generally not a word that people feel comfortable with”.
Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sneezy and Sleepy in the production will be replaced by child actors billed as “friends”, the Leicester Mercury reported.
But the theatre has now clarified its position, saying that the panto - entitled 'Snow White' - would still refer to the characters as "dwarfs", though they will be played by a child dance troupe wearing costumes instead of adult actors.
The original reports produced a backlash from diminutive thespians, who suspect it is a way of boosting the panto’s profit margins by involving children as opposed to professionals.
Warwick Davis, the 3ft6ins star of Harry Potter and Star Wars, told the Leicester Mercury it was “patronising" that "people are offended on our behalf".
Now Anthony Flint, general manager at De Montfort Hall has told the Independent the panto was based more on the 1812 Grimm fairytale than the 1937 Disney film, which has a bigger role for the dwarfs.
The emphasis would instead be on the Wicked Queen, played by Benidorm star Sherrie Hewson, he added.
Warwick Davies (Getty)
Mr Flint said: “The programme at De Montfort Hall is firmly driven by star names and celebrity, and it’s no different for pantomime, so the panto storyline focuses on the characters of Snow White and Wicked Queen, played by this year’s star, Sherrie Hewson.
“[The seven dwarfs are] being played by the dance team in full costume rather than a team of adult actors for the two or three scenes they appear in, but audiences will absolutely get the full traditional story they’re expecting to see – dwarfs and all.
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“The dance teams that will play these characters as well as providing the dance ensemble, were selected by open audition earlier in the year and panto is the ideal vehicle for them to be involved in a professional theatre production, often for the first time”.
Social media was, inevitably, awash with claims of “political correctness gone mad”.
Warwick Davis is right, changing 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' to Seven Friends is patronising and bizarre #r4today
— Stanley (@StanleyIy_) September 9, 2015
School play renamed Snow White and the seven friends as" some people aren't comfortable with the word" dwarf"" pc brigade strike again.....!
— unknowntrucker (@unknowntrucker) September 9, 2015
Stars of the show include Benidorm actress Sherrie Hewson, Britain's Got Talent finalist Jon Clegg and children's presenter Justin Fletcher - also known as Mr Tumble. Snow White will be played by Sarah Accomando.
Snow White runs from 12 December until 4 January 2016.
