Cinders comes to the `Murph
Cinderella and the Snow Angels
Performed by the Whole Shebang Theatre Group
Venue: BIFHE Whiterock, Belfast.
This was a show with all the traditional Panto
trimmings - ugly sisters, a wicked stepmother, a Good
Fairy and 200 children shouting `Look out behind you!'
- and then some more: a helicopter buzzing overhead, a
wee lad selling cigarettes and selection boxes from a
grip bag, Buttons missing his Da, in the Kesh.
Congratulations to Paddy McCann for his streetwise
leprechaun. This young fella engaged the audience with
his charm and wit from the word go. Incredible to
believe that this is his first time on stage. This lad
is a natural, with hard work and dedication he could be
going places.
From the cheer that went up as Cinderella (Nichola
McGreevy) ditched her `Prince Charming' (Gerard
Caufield as a laid back Aussie pop-star) and walked
into the sunset with the boy next door, it was clear
that this Panto - under the confident direction of
Maura O'Reilly.- had touched the hearts of the kids
from Ballymurphy, Turf Lodge and New Barnsley. The Ugly
Sisters - (Fiona McVeigh and Katrina McEvoy as Spice
Girl Wannabes) were the baddest, meanest girls in the
West and when the `wee hoods' (Sean Morgan and Paul
Kelly) kidnapped Good Fairy, Tiny Tara (a charming
performance by ten year old Amanda Doherty), the place
erupted with kids screaming `Let her go!'
The role of the Pantomine Dame was strongly delivered
by Caroline McDonnell, as a Ballymurphy mother seeing
off army helicopters, hoods and wicked witches with one
blast from her mighty mouth. She ended up marrying the
pop star's publicity agent (Thomas MacMahon, in trilby
hat and trench coat) ``Are you married, single, widowed,
divorced or separated?'' he asks. ``Aye,'' she says.
``Which one?'' says he. ``The whole lot!''
The chorus of tiny Snow Angels and the graceful Irish
dancers who closed and opened each Act were the apple
of every mother's eye. Top marks to Karen Gormley for
her dynamic choreography.
As far as the dads were concerned, Tisha, the wicked
witch of the west, was the Xmas cracker most of them
would like to pull. A stunning performance from Lisa
Doherty, poured into black leather cat suit and
sprouting green feathers.
The eye catching set (designed and built by Deirdre
Mackel), a combination of traditional panto and
Ballymurphy street life, and the first class lighting
(thanks to G2) Made this a great night out for an
amazing 50p a ticket for kids. My only problem was a
difficulty in catching all of the lines from Pauline
Hadaway's script - which was a pity as she delivered
some cracking one liners. Part of the problem was the
acoustics in the hall, and the sheer noise, enthusiasm
and volume of the young audience, but the young actors
tended to drop their voices from time to time. Lack of
confidence? No need for that. This group have got a lot
going for them and I look forward to their next
production.
By Eddie Robinson
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