There’s a plot: Somewhere, but who cares? I’ve been lucky enough to attend TTP’s pantos for three years now, and they are getting better and better. 

“We passed the point of realism a while ago.”

 

This one has everything you could wish for. A dame who knows what they’re doing. A couple of baddies. Idiot henchmen. Ad-libs that crush idiots in the audience who seem to think that the show just needs their input to be perfect. (shutup you numpty, if you think you can do this -audition!)

 

Director Damon Hill knows his stuff around a pantomime and keeps the pace up. He’s also smart enough to cast good actors and then not reign them in too much. Frank Cwiertniak and Brendan Cooney as dame and baddy respectively, step in and out of character as easily as doing The Hokey Pokey. Samuel Creighton as The Fool is improving with every season, and is a great hit with the kids in the audience.

 

The team at TTP are to be congratulated for producing a terrific show. Pantomime is very often a kid’s first introduction to the theatre, both as an audience member, and often as part of the cast or chorus. Zack Brittan is a name to remember, playing Pinocchio here with a presence beyond his years, not just keeping up with the grown-ups, but showing them how it’s done too.

 

It also seems to me that audience participation is getting bigger here too, (most audience members get it.) Other groups could have the gumption to produce a pantomime. It’s not the easiest form of theatre, but it is possibly the most rewarding.