Buncrana panto - Hollywood's on the line
If there was an Oscar for a panto, Buncrana would surely be in with a shout.
'Sleeping Beauty' at St Mary's Hall is a show that any professional, playwright, actor or singer, would be proud to be part of. And the crowds are telling their own story, with packed-out houses.
This is a super production with great songs and music, star turns and laughs-a-plenty. For me, at my first panto in Buncrana, what's most appealing is the way it's community-based and a credit to all Inishowen.
No B-rated celebrities here. Every single performer, musician, and backstage helper has been taken from the local area and onto a stage in front of a live audience. The very prospect would strike fear into the hearts of many a stage student but not to this troupe. To them, acting, singing, and general merriment for the crowds appear to be second nature.
This creative adaption of the original fairytale had me at times in hysterics with its local references to the town's grumble with its new parking wardens and pay-and-display machines.
One of the funniest moments of the show is when Les Dawson-inspired Dame Eunan McConnell tells his partner in crime Dame Eddie Murphy that he has an ingenious money-making idea - mobile pay-and-display parking machines. Flamboyantly dressed and made-up to the eyeballs, Eddie reckons he's got orders in from all over the town and beyond and they'll be raking in more cash than the council.
Nobody's safe. Even District Justice Desmond Zaidan gets a mention. The Dames breath a sigh of relief at one point when they're brought before a panto judge rather than the real thing! Local solicitor Pat McMyler is also honoured with an impression of his courtroom style - and there's lots more.
Now, onto the stars that really shone during the night. The main performers in this year's panto will, I dare say, not be able to walk down the street without being stopped for weeks and months to come. But hey, you are such stars, you all deserve to be stopped, photographed and asked for autographs, and Woody Allen should be thinking of hiring some of you!
The comedy geniuses of the panto are, of course, the two dames. I have watched many a panto with half-forgotten celebs doing their best impressions of ugly old women, but these two get the impersonation of two elderly Buncrana women down to a T. They knww all the gossip of the town and how to put things to rights in the world, and it's all done with the best craic possible.
Dame Eunan even slipped in a bit of Northern English humour which, as a northern English lass myself, I was more than pleased to see. His impression of a gossiping old lady, with a range of funny moves and grimacing facial expressions, was reminiscent of the great Dawson himself.
And the lines were fast and pacy from each Dame, who looked every bit as over-the-top as their personalities.
A man who is surely capable of acting full-time is the hysterical Donal Kearney, who plays the nutty pharmacist Dr Zozimus.
Donal is every inch the science nut with his crazy hair, amazing foreign accent (of some description) and bodily tics to match.
As he shudders and shakes across the stage, you start to forget this is a lad off the street and not from some nutty professor’s finishing school.
Hats off too to the hilariously scary evil witch, played by Shauna McKinley. Shauna somehow manages to make her portrayal of the panto witch as original as possible, with her bone-chilling cackle and creepy, sleeky movements across stage - fabulous!
The talented singers without a doubt include Sleeping Beauty herself, Maureen Loughrey, who could certainly grace a West End stage. Her powerful musical voice showers over the audience, comforting them that there will finally be a happy ending.
Our kids - the dotes!
But for every parent, like myself, who watched the show from start to finish, the real stars of the piece are the children.
All I have to say is ‘wow’ to all the fairies, nymphs, witches and elves. These mini actors and actresses all have perfect stage poise and danced their little hearts out, while speaking their lines with perfect pitch and emphasis.
And you know what, there was not one single line mixed up by any of the children, so well done you little angels!
Buncrana has, it is fair to say, more than its fair share of theatrical talent, and it has to be hats off to the playwrights, Patricia Doherty and William Doherty. This has to be the best panto I have ever been lucky enough to see.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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