An "adults only" pantomime titled Snow White and the Seven Inches has sparked fury after being booked at a theatre on a secondary school campus in Kent, with critics calling it "inappropriate" and "misogynistic".
The show is set to run from January 7 to January 16 at the Sinden, a theatre on the Homewood School campus in Tenterden, Kent.
Deleted blurb and cropped poster
An online ad for the show on the theatre's website featured a now-deleted blurb describing how Snow White "finds herself on her knees surrounded by wood", among other innuendos. The site now simply reads: "Mirror mirror on the wall Join The Adult Panto Tour for their sixth year of the 'No.1 Outrageous Adult Panto'. Book your favourite seats now! Strictly 18+."
A poster for the show, understood to have been performed at The Sinden in previous years, has also been cropped to remove its title.
Mixed reactions on social media
A screenshot of the theatre's website sparked a range of opinions after it was shared on the social networking site Nextdoor. Poster Ally Howard said: "Anyone else think this is wildly inappropriate for a theatre attached to a school?"
Some said they did not believe the choice to host the panto was wrong, given that the event was only open to adults. One commenter wrote: "Give slack all round. If children understand innuendos, they will snigger, as we all did. If not, it will be right over their heads."
One user said: "It's an adult panto. Not a child's panto. No under 18s - so I don't see the issue here. No reason to be offended. If it's not for you, don't go."
Critics call for removal
However, some agreed that it was inappropriate, even going as far as to say it "promotes a disregard for women". One woman said: "I would say yes it is [inappropriate]. If it's a primary school you could probably get this removed, but a secondary school I doubt it. It's another sign of the appalling lowering of standards."
Another user commented: "It's distasteful ( I think) and I agree, inappropriate for a school theatre. I've looked at the Sinden Theatre website, which states 'Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre Learning - Respect - Belonging' at the base of the page advertising this. It seems to me to be a very poor model to give to young people and a significant error of judgement by the leadership team."
The Homewood banner has also now been removed from the advertisement page for the production.
One critic slammed the risque panto, calling it "abhorrent". She added: "It promotes a deep disregard for women. This is profound misogynistic culture being normalised, still. Whoever allowed this to go ahead should have nothing to do with the education of teenagers. Welcome to 2026 where, apparently, it's still just a bit of fun to sexualise and belittle women. My issue is not that it's by the school. It's that people are defending it at all."
Others pointed out that small theatres are struggling financially, and that pulling the production would see them lose income. The panto is produced by Matty Hurst Productions, which is also behind Tenterden's family panto - a more family-friendly telling of Snow White.
Snow White and the Seven Inches is advertised on its own site with the original blurb, and shows that performances on January 11 are already sold out. It is also running at other theatres in Kent, including The Granville in Ramsgate and The Woodville, Gravesend, after its stint at The Sinden. The Tenterden performing arts venue, as well as Tenterden Schools Trust which runs Homewood, have been contacted for comment.
