The Improvised Panto is proving panto is not just for children

PANTOMIME is not just for children.

Wed, 17 Dec, 2014 - 00:00

Colette Sheridan

As Laura Harte from The Improvised Panto points out, pantomimes were originally adult entertainment and it was only in the 19th century that children in England started going to the pantomime at Christmas.

Specially devised adult pantomimes are popular in the UK. In Cork, two such shows have a dedicated following.

Such is the success of The Improvised Panto at Cork’s Half Moon Theatre that this year, as well as the 8.30pm show, midnight shows have been introduced.

Now in its fourth year, the pantomime, performed by ITSA Theatre Company, is billed as ‘a different panto every night’.

It is improvised on the spot, with the audience choosing the pantomime as well as casting it.

“Some of the suggestions can be a bit cheeky,” says Harte.

“But we don’t go down the route of taboo topics. We try to avoid the sexual thing and go instead for fun and the ridiculousness of what we’re doing. We’re not an adult panto in the crude or bawdy sense.”

A cast of five and pianist Paul O’Connor entertain audiences that hanker after the essentials of whatever fairy tale is being performed.

“We tried one or two shows with the plot being thrown out the window but it didn’t really work. Audiences want the basics of the fairy tale.”

However, The Improvised Panto goes off in some surreal directions.

“There’s nothing that you can do to prepare for a show. You just have to go for it. Audiences are amazing. They just sit there and marvel at us making it up as we go along. We don’t rehearse but we have workshops. And we’ve accumulated bags of costumes over the years.”

Just as the action on stage can’t be predicted, nor can the audience be relied on to be quiet like obedient children.

“When we were doing our very first show and didn’t have a clue what to expect, a Christmas party of about 20 people came in. They were raucous and they actually stormed the stage at the end and danced with us. We played along. They were just up for a bit of fun.”

The Original Adult Panto, performed by Chatty Boo Productions, goes in for a lot of sexual innuendo and general ribaldry.

This year’s offering is ‘Little Red Raving Mad’ at the Spailpín Fánach.

Now in its sixth year, The Original Adult Panto, starring Peter O’Mahony as the deeply cynical and verbally vicious Dame, had its genesis backstage at Cork Opera House.

Artistic director of Chatty Boo, Angela Newman and its first director, Neil Pearson, used to change the lyrics of songs for a laugh while waiting for their cues during the run of the Cork Opera House pantomime.

“We thought it would be really funny if we put those lines we came up with, on a stage,” says Newman.

“We decided to give it a try and booked five nights at the Crane Lane. We had to extend it by another five nights because it was so popular. We now do 28 performances and we have a really loyal following.”

Actor Adrian Scanlon writes the script with suggestions from the cast.

“It’s a bit bawdy. We don’t shy away from the way real people speak. When panto started in England, it was for adults, so we’ve kind of gone back to that, making digs at politicians and mentioning whatever is current.”

The audience is made up of students, “loads of OAPs and we even get members of the ICA. We take it seriously. If someone tells a joke in the dressing room and none of us laugh at it, then it’s cut”.

With a mission to entertain, adult panto takes no chances.