A cast of more than 100 of Neatherd High School's creative arts students used improvisation, physical theatre and realistic acting to create two highly original and engaging shows – The Dwarfs and The Snow Queen.

Over three nights, the drama production at the Dereham school provided a double bill of fun, physicality and contrast.

In the first half, audiences were treated to the never-before-revealed back story to Snow White – how the Seven Dwarfs got their names.

They learned that before Sleepy, played by Jack White (Year 8), became sleepy, he worked the night shift in A&E until he accidentally dosed himself with too much anaesthetic.

As the play unfolded, the audience was delighted by the telling of each dwarf's tale of woe with the expert assistance of a slick and thoroughly synchronized chorus of actors and dancers.

The second half of the show was a completely original re-working of an old tale, The Snow Queen.

Whereas 'The Dwarfs' was a fast-paced and frantic comedy, The Snow Queen balanced traditional story-telling technique with the chilling presence of three menacing ice maidens, Poppy and Charlie Bunting and Georgia Mitchell-Finnigan (Years 10 and 11).

As good always defeats evil, the Snow Queens were beaten by love and loyalty and by the raucous lampooning of a group of senior citizens embarking on the trip of a life-time - a Viking River cruise to the frozen north.

A spokesman for the school said it was a 'wonderful' school production.

She said: 'A tremendous amount of effort was put into planning, production and rehearsals. It took a great deal of commitment and effort from all concerned, but as you'd agree if you were lucky enough to see the shows, it was worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears!'