He's behind you! Nanny Nellie's panto is back, with a new home online

Frank Mackey, who will play the lead role in the Cork Opera House production of Nanny Nellies Panto Telly which is online from December 22 to 31. 

Panto planning starts at Cork Opera House in March, around the time Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was standing at a podium in Washington to tell us that schools, colleges and cultural venues were to close. 

In fact back in March of this year Frank Mackey and co-writer and Director Trevor Ryan were already well down the road of planning for Sleeping Beauty – the 2020 Cork Opera House panto. 

Every year panto draws tens of thousands of people to see the spectacle, and while the stories and the audiences change there is one constant – Panto Dame Nanny Nellie – played by Frank Mackey. She is the central character every year who acts as a larger than life connection between the audience and the fantastical land of panto. 

She is famous for her one-liners, her amazing wardrobe, her Cork humour and her ‘walk abouts’ when she comes down the treads into the crowd as the shyer members of the audience shrink deeper into their seats and the braver ones try to grab her attention. Cork Opera House panto is Nanny Nellie and Nanny Nellie is Cork Opera House panto. For actor Frank Mackey panto is his career; panto is his most significant body of work and accounts for most of his working year.

I caught up with Frank in November, when theatres across the country had already called time on any hope of live Christmas shows but now more than ever we needed to escape into the magical world of pantoland.

I asked Frank if he realised that the announcement in March would mean that for the first time in 22 years Nanny Nellie may not be dusting off her ‘culchie and banana’ designer numbers. 

"I felt the significance of the announcement and realised that things would have to change, but I just thought we would have to adapt," he says. "I had started writing and kept working on the script convinced that while we would have to make some changes, panto 2020 would go ahead."

As we moved into lock down, and shows that were originally pushed out to autumn started to be cancelled or moved to 2021, Frank reached that sad realisation that panto as we know it could not happen this year. 

Frank Mackey is famous for her one-liners, her amazing wardrobe, her Cork humour and her ‘walkabouts’.

"In June, I put down my pen and stopped writing." 

Even over a zoom conversation I could feel the weight of this moment and what it meant to Frank. Panto isn’t just a job to him, it’s a huge part of his life, he co-writes with his friend, he has relationships with the panto team that have decades of shared history, he means it when he refers to the cast and crew as his ‘panto family’. 

In the same way that we all feel the pain of not being able to see close friends, Frank was experiencing that intense loss when the decision was made that there would be no panto in 2020.

As he came to terms with the reality, he began to read the messages from panto fans who had taken to the Cork Opera House Facebook page to share their disappointment but also their panto memories. Frank expressed the sense of responsibility he feels towards his audience. 

"Panto is part of the Christmas tradition for so many families," he says, "it brings generations together like no other stage production; audience members range from 3 to 93. They leave reality behind and escape into the magic of panto, where they can be silly, they can laugh big belly laughs – and we need to laugh, especially this year we really need to laugh. As Nanny would say – laugh until your belly pops and your bottom burps!"

At the same time CEO of Cork Opera House Eibhlín Gleeson was working with Producer Rory Murphy to determine if there was any way to get panto to the audience. Meetings began and plans started to take shape, and a group of determined people had a shared belief that in spite of the backdrop of a global pandemic… the show must go on. 

Frank was thrilled to take up his pen again, and work with director and co-writer Trevor Ryan in writing a show like no other they had written before. Frank describes those initial meetings as ‘starting with lists of what we couldn’t do, to final get to an idea that would be safe and still true to the panto tradition’.

"This year audiences will experience a show like never before as they are getting up-close and personal with Nanny Nellie – but not too close, she hasn’t been able to get into Pennys in weeks girl, so the tan is fading."

Audiences will be watching panto from their homes this year and Nanny Nellie’s telly is beamed straight into your sitting room. As Frank points out, "at a time when many people can’t get home for Christmas we can bring a slice of Cork humour to them. Whether you’re in Bantry or Beijing you can experience this show, as for the first time in her 20 plus history, Nanny goes international.

"Sure we always knew Nanny was bigger than Cork, it was only a matter of time before she went global, she’s always wanted to be on the interweb." 

Creating a show that will be beamed from the Cork Opera House stage to your home has brought back many of the creative talents which have impressed audiences and critics over the last few years with international calibre productions. Including hair and makeup artist Maeve Readman, and lighting designer Drew McCarthy.

So what can audiences expect from Nanny Nellie’s Panto Telly? 

"We’re bringing you all on a journey through panto memories as Nanny Nellie presents chapters of her life including the villains that tried to take her down, but there’s brand new content too with sketches and the usual madness and hilarity." 

And fans of Nanny’s fashion won’t be disappointed Bethany Baker will be on hand to ensure plenty of fabulous costume changes, you may be in your onesie at home but Nanny will be bringing the glamour and sparkle. Nanny also let the Examiner in on a little secret… 

"I’m inviting you in to the world of Nanny never seen before as we take a trip down memory lane together, but I’ve someone in my bubble that I can’t wait for you to meet. His name is Wally the Elf, now he’s a bit of a dirty looking eejit but he’s great fun and I know you’ll love him." Wally the Elf will be played by Michael Joseph who has previously delighted audiences at Cork Opera House and Gaiety productions.

While the rest of us are scoffing mince pies and winding down for Christmas week Frank is usually working out and staying healthy to keep with the schedule of, a rather gruelling, 60 plus shows each season. He doesn’t mind, he loves his work but it also is not easy and while he is disappointed not to have the same panto experience, there are some upsides. Frank will get to sit down and relax with his family this year for the first time in decades. 

But does that mean he’ll get used to having a break at Christmas? "Not a chance, we’re already discussing casting for 2021 and I am excited to get back to writing our version of Sleeping Beauty. We will be bringing panto back, bigger and better than ever."

Frank believes that Panto, just like Christmas, can’t really be cancelled because it is about people and it is about magic. People would have been reliving their favourite panto memories at this time of year but this way you can have Nanny Nellie guide you through.

Yes it will be a bit different to other years but you can also wear your jammies and you won’t have to find parking. What is even more exciting is that for the first year ever you can watch panto on Christmas day with Nanny Nellie’s Panto Telly running from 22 to 31 December. So should you get a ticket for this year’s panto, well I will leave Nanny answer that one: "Doo do do dotey pet, doo do do."

Nanny Nellie’s Panto Telly is online from the December 22-31. Tickets 10 corkoperahouse.ie