Panto review: Beauty and the Beast - Cork Opera House

4/5

There aren’t too many phrases that won’t give you thousands of hits on Google. But putting ‘lopsy pa’ into the search engine gives you just one. And that’s from a People’s Republic of Cork forum.

If the script of Cork Opera House’s production of Beauty and the Beast ever makes it online, that amount of hits will double. For those who don’t know, ‘lopsy-pa’ means not quite right, not the full bob, like.

Of course, way before Google, pantomimes at this 160-year- Leeside institution have been taking classic stories and peppering them with local slang and topical references. Here, everything from Michae l Noonan and water meters to Star Wars and the White Walkers of Game of Thrones got a nod in an enjoyable production that showed the panto tradition is very much alive and kicking.

The venue did get some stick from some members of the orchestral community in the city for dropping live musicians for this year’s production. Most people would sympathise with both sides of that discussion: employment for musicians and the magic of a live accompaniment versus budget considerations for a production that already has upwards of 80 people involved, as well as the help it gives to keeping a 1,000-seater venue running all year. In truth, most of the three generations in the audience wouldn’t have noticed the difference, even if some of the sound issues are still a work in progress.

Impressive sets and effects, lively dance numbers, and the sing-a-long finale of OMI’s ‘Cheerleader’ all contributed to the feelgood factor.

As ever, it was the Dame, Nanny Potts (Frank Mackey, also a co-writer on the production), and her comic sidekick, Chip (Declan Wolfe), who got most of the best lines. “I tripped over Nanny’s bra — it was a booby trap!” “I’m very temperamental — one part temper, three parts mental.”

In terms of stage presence, well-ripped British actor, Barnaby Hughes, drew boos and sighs of admiration in equal measure in his role as the nasty Gas-On.“That’s a sort of rubber suit they put on him,” explained a hopeful dad behind us. Sorry pops, those abs were real.

Des O’Driscoll

• Beauty and the Beast runs until January 17 at 7pm (6pm on Sundays) and 2pm (1pm on Sundays). Tickets: €25-€30 (family of four: €80-€100)