View from the Green Room: Bringing the magic home with you
Panto legend Nicky Cummins with Jack and the Beanstalk's Richie Hayes.
Richie Hayes kicks off the first of his Arena Pantos with a fun-filled two-hour show that powered along in front of the packed SETU Arena.
This production is slick, classy, funny and professional. Knowing Richie – as half of Waterford does – I wouldn’t expect anything less.
The staging itself is a technical marvel as it transforms the Arena into a large-scale theatre complete with lights, sound, high-tech visuals and a huge stage. As a result, the production zips along but still manages to take time-outs to slag off local undertaker John Thompson, who performed in many pantos as – surprise, surprise – the local undertaker. Richie takes the opportunity to include panto legend Nicky Cummins and reference all the many pantos they played together.
There’s a stellar cast here tonight of well-known names. Danny O’Carroll, star of Mrs Brown's Boys, clucks along tonight as Mother Hen, A Dame with attitude and a sharp tongue to match, who can deliver insults like Donald Trump at a Venezuelan speed-dating night.
There’s a huge Waterford cast here tonight who are all professional. Evan O’Hanlon from Moone Boy started with Richie and is a dashing Jack who strides the stage with the swagger of a hero.
Alex Kavanagh, aged only 19, has exploded onto the musical theatre scene in the last few years, winning the Green Room Award for Best Female Performer as Carole King in Beautiful. Alex’s Jill is the darling of all the boys and girls and her comic playing is a delight and, sure, aren’t we all just delighted when she marries giant-slayer hero Jack when he finally comes down off that beanstalk as a rich man.
Wexford’s Sharon Clancy has worked with the late, great Bryan Flynn and Red Kettle, spent 13 years in the West End and has a list of credits longer than the list Santa gets from me every year. Sharon is suitably obnoxious as the bad Baroness Felicia, who sets out to ruin all of Jack and Jill’s plans. If there’s a baddie, there just has to be a Good Fairy and Holly Ryan is the chief scene stealer here who sprinkles stardust and magic as everyone’s favourite Fairy G and belts out two massive diva numbers that just bring the house down.
Winterval train driver Jamie Drohan is great fun as Mayor Steve although there’s not an engine in sight. Dancers Jack Cunningham, Abbie Shannon, Holly Grant, Evie O’Brien, Patrick Brennan, Megan Butler, Nicola Walsh and Emily Dalton deliver on Evan O’Hanlon’s choreography with splendid routines that lift the show whenever they enter.
Panto teens and Panto kids are all part of the routines. Panto Puppeteers – loveable Daisy the Cow, Postman Patrick, Golden Hen and a pair of Transformers – are funny and engaging and a duel between Jack and a massive Giant (Niall Broderick and Dara McCarthy) is the climax of the show.
Well, of course, Richie Hayes is the star of the show and his tiny footprint is everywhere. His experience over 25 years of professional panto shines through. Richie directs his show fairly and squarely towards the boys and girls – young and old – in the Arena and the interaction is powerful. Even the five-minute bell gets applause.
My 10-year-old granddaughter Saoirle and her pal Claire are my go-to reference because they know all the tunes and the shows they come from as the young audience sings along.
Although there are some pretty nifty one-liners, the comedy is about as subtle as a brick landing on your head from 50 feet and the audience just loves it. A romantic duet between Jack and Jill is haunted by Muckles (Richie) and ends up in a hilarious slap-stick routine on a wall that brings the house down. A trip to the sea-shell shop that sells sushi becomes a witty tongue-twister that builds and builds and brings bursts of applause throughout. Hilarious.
Jack gets Jill in the wind-up BUT everyone wants to bring Richie’s lovable Muckles home with them. It’s that kind of night.
‘Bring the magic home with you,’ says Muckles. Who could argue with that?
