Be our guests: Cork's panto dames on their excitement to welcome audiences once more
Frank Mackey plays Nanny Nellie in the Cork Opera House Panto 'Nanny Nellie's Adventures in Pantoland from December 10th. Pictures: Eddie O'Hare
Cork Opera House panto is days away from opening and this last week has been full of tension and stress for the team behind the show.
Full dress rehearsals, technical checks, perfecting special effects, last-minute nerves… these are normal pre-show activity – and aren’t the source of this stress. Instead all eyes were on Dublin, the pending government announcements and what they would mean for panto.
This last week has been full of unknowns — a reoccurring theme for the last almost two years. Just as live theatre was gearing up for the Christmas season they were dealt another blow — it’s panto time but not for children. We were told on Tuesday that children should be limiting their social contacts outside of school, and essentially that parents would have to choose between panto and playdates.
CEO of Cork Opera House and the executive producer of the theatre’s biggest production, Eibhlín Gleeson, is remaining upbeat about the show.
They have been inundated with contacts from patrons since the leaks of the recommendations broke last Monday.
But the contacts weren’t for cancellations, they were people desperate to know if the show will go on.
And, at the time of going to print, the news is good: “Rehearsals are continuing. We are monitoring the public health situation closely and we remain optimistic that we will be able to share this brilliant show with the people of Cork this Christmas.”
The priority for Eibhlín Gleeson and producer, Rory Murphy, is the safety of their audience, but equally they are “excited to be back doing what we do best”. They have adapted panto to fit the new world order, there are no children in the cast this year, and the overall cast numbers are reduced. The show will run for 75 minutes with no interval to reduce mixing and while group bookings went ahead there will be no pre- or post-show parties. This is in addition to compliance with all guidelines and regulations.
Along with so many aspects of life, last year panto went virtual. Frank Mackey, the actor behind the panto dame Nanny Nellie was happy that they could bring panto to the people of Cork when theatre doors were closed in 2020 but it wasn’t something he wanted to repeat. “I craved a live audience, Nanny Nellie wanted to be back in all her big, bold and beautiful glory.”
Mackey explains that he is in the lucky situation of being an experienced stage and screen actor, so playing to a camera rather than an audience does come naturally.
“Nanny Nellie was created for live shows,” he says.
Like all artists Mackey struggled with no outlet for his work. “Our entire industry was shut down, and with so many friends in the same business it was a really difficult time.”
As things started to open up Mackey made the decision to turn down other offers of work for the second half of the year while waiting for the decision on panto. He knew that if there was any chance of it going ahead he wanted to be part of it.
Sitting down with Mackey, his excitement is palpable, despite the recent bumps in the road on the journey to pantoland. He might crave an audience, but anyone who has ever seen the magic of Nanny Nellie captivating a crowd of people would wholeheartedly agree that the audience needs him just as much.
“We know that children are having to make sacrifices again this year, the team at the Opera House is making sure we’re following all the guidelines and making the setting and experience as safe as possible. But I also know how much everyone is looking forward to this year’s panto, we all need the chance to be kids again and laugh ‘til our faces hurt.”
Once they got to go ahead for a live show at the end of the summer, everything had to spring to life. Mackey refers to producer Rory Murphy as ‘the Christmas elf’. “Sets were ordered, the band was arranged, suddenly all the gang was back together. Choreographer Ciarán Connolly; world-class makeup and wig artist, Maeve Readman; Beth Baker and Muireann Doyle in wardrobe; and stage manager Bethany Cosgrove are making up the dream team.”
Months before the confirmation that a live show was going ahead Trevor Ryan, panto director and co-writer, along with Mackey, were working away in the background. Usually Cork Opera House panto is based (loosely) on an existing fairytale, but this year they are taking a different approach. In the year of unknowns, Mackey and Ryan had to write a panto that could be adapted depending on what winter 2021 would bring.
“If we had to do a virtual panto then it would still have to be bigger and better than last year. We were working on our hope that we would be looking at a full production with a live audience and importantly a cast. We thought 2020 was a one-off but as the year progressed we realised that whatever we did in 2021 it wouldn’t be back to pre-pandemic just yet.”
The result of this is a big win for audiences as this year’s fairy tale is brand new, it comes from the imagination and minds of Mackey and Ryan as they write and script a story that has never been told before, a script that could grow and contract depending on what was possible. Writing commenced a bit later than usual, and as a result they were still making adjustments in the run-up to rehearsals.
In May, auditions began for a core cast for the show. With a smaller cast this year they wanted to ensure they got the best so starting in the summer was key to success. There will be plenty of panto favourites in the mix this year, those we love, and those we love to hate.
Audiences will get to see where Nanny Nellie lives the other 10 months of the year as she brings viewers home with her to the enchanted forest, where she acts as the guardian of the magic fairytale book — the key to all past and future pantos. She has some A-list celebrity neighbours for you to meet including Princess Jasmine, Peter Pan, Snow White and Harry Potter. Jimmy Brockie makes his Cork Opera House debut as Nanny’s nephew, Jack, and there will be some familiar faces back on the stage, with Valerie O’Leary as fairy-in training, Tonkerbell, and Phoebe Dipple as Jack’s best friend, Jill. Seasoned panto-goers will remember Phoebe as Wendy in the 2019 production, and in the title role of Snow White in 2017.
Panto fans will be delighted to see that Michael Grennell is returning to play the role of the panto baddie, who Frank describes as “the wickedly evil Balthazar, who is out to ruin panto”.
Cue booing and hissing from kids and grown-ups alike, “because at the core of every good panto story is the fight between good and evil and the thrill of the chase”. Grennell and Mackey are a comedy duo that has treaded the boards together for decades, with the incredible talent of the creative team they are transformed once more into two duelling sides for this production.
In September auditions were held via video submissions for the supporting ensemble. The Opera House reached out to local stage schools in filling these roles. Mackey is delighted with this approach, “we’ve fantastic talent in Cork that are coming up through the ranks and it is it wonderful to be able to give them an opportunity to perform in the Cork Opera House. So many people have had their big break on that stage”.
Mackey promises that the show will be jam-packed, delivering the high production value audiences expect from Cork Opera House panto. “The band is back in the orchestra pit this year with musical director Ronan Houlihan; there will be scene changes, fantastic dance routines, the best jokes yet and so much magic and messing.”
He is bursting to get back to his home on the stage in Cork Opera House. “There have been times over the last few years that I’ve wondered if I would keep going back every year but as soon as it was almost taken away from us I find myself reenergised with passion and love for what I do.
When tickets for panto went on sale, there was a flood of demand. “Never before have people needed to escape so much, to experience that childlike wonder regardless of age,” says Mackey.
I ask if that puts pressure on the team to deliver: “It motivates us, it inspires us, it guarantees that this panto will be all-singing, all-dancing, belly-laugh inducing, and memory-making.”
- Nanny Nellie’s Adventures in Pantoland runs from December 11 (previews on Dec 9 & 10), to January 9, 2022. Tickets are available online or from the Cork Opera House Box Office in person, or by calling 021 427 0022. corkoperahouse.ie.
After two years away from a live audience, Ciarán Bermingham is savouring his transformation into the Everyman’s panto dame, writes
As CEO of the Everyman Theatre in Cork, Sean Kelly is no stranger to drama, but one would imagine the last few weeks has even stretched his capacity for theatrical shenanigans. Despite the shadow of rising Covid cases looming over the Everyman’s beloved panto and health minister Stephen Donnelly’s recommendation that children reduce their social interactions, Kelly is upbeat, positive, and, in grand theatrical tradition, determined that the show will go on. Bookings for this year’s panto, Aladdin, are strong, and there have been no cancellations, he says.
“Psychologically, we are ready for anything now. You don’t make any plan in live entertainment without having plans B,C and D ready. There were a few twists and turns but based on the information we have now, very little has changed. The shows are going ahead, rehearsals are going really well, bookings are strong so we feel like we are in a good place now.” For those who may be anxious about attending, he says audience safety is paramount.
“I think people trust us on that. We have been working on this for over a year to get to the point where things are as safe as they can be. The audience will have a really good time in a safe, controlled space.” Most importantly of all, fun is top of the agenda, he says. “People are ready for live entertainment and they are ready for panto as well. We could all do with some fun, singing and dancing. We want people to have a good time and to be able to forget about what’s happening outside for a while.”
Before the new restrictions are announced and Omicron is waiting in the wings, I indulge in a brief escape from the outside world myself with a visit to the CADA (Cork Academy of Dramatic Arts) studio, where the rehearsals for Aladdin are in full flow under the watchful eye of Catherine Mahon-Buckley, who has been at the helm of the Everyman panto for more than 25 years. The show is shaping up nicely despite the pressurised circumstances, and I enjoy a gorgeous rendition of the classic A Whole New World from Dayl Cronin (Aladdin) and Marion Goggin (Jasmine).
Another burst of joy comes from Ciarán Bermingham, who has become a mainstay as the Everyman panto dame. He is in full regalia as Lola Twankey, complete with pink curly pigtails and rosy cheeks — a far cry from some of his more dramatic roles, as the jailer Mord in Game of Thrones and on stage in productions such as Brian Friel’s Lovers. Bermingham played an Ugly Sister opposite Fionula Linehan in Cinderella in 2014, taking over the role of dame the following year. He knew he had a tough act to follow.
“It was terrifying because Jim Mulcahy was a fantastic Dame and had very much made the Everyman his own. I thought, Jesus, they’re big shoes to fill. On top of that, Jim is a gentleman. The Dame I had growing up was Billa [O’Connell] — outside of being a Dame, he was pure Cork. When he walked on stage, you knew it was a man in a frock but it didn’t matter. He had a bit of lipstick and eye shadow, he wouldn’t have this amount of make-up on. He would pull up his shirt and you could see his big hairy arms. But he was fantastic. That is the kind of Dame I wanted to be, someone who could just chat to the audience if needed.”
That ability to interact with the audience and improvise has been needed on more than one occasion.
“One of my best memories is when I came out on stage — it was Cinderella, and the Uglies had just done something to Cinderella — and this child in the audience just started to tell me everything that had happened. The whole of the theatre was quiet. I’m sure the stage manager was thinking, ‘would he ever say his lines and get on with the show’ but I was going, no, because this is a moment. So I said, ’go on, tell me more’. The child was getting more and more into it and the audience loved it. Then Cinderella came out and when she asked ‘what’s going on’ I said, ‘ask the child’, and it brought the house down. That is the freedom that the dame has.”
The panto run also requires a huge amount of stamina.
"I am lucky because I have a dresser and make-up person. I put on my foundation and they do the rest. We allow 20 minutes to half an hour for the make-up. It is the most relaxing 20 minutes — I can understand why people go for facials. I’m sitting down and there is absolute madness in the dressing room and for that moment, I can get my head in gear.”
Of course, panto wouldn’t be panto without jokes about the issues of the moment but Bermingham says the topic that has dominated the headlines for almost two years will only get a brief mention.
“I think I make one crack about Covid and that’s it. Because to me, it hasn’t got a place here. Covid has had a huge effect on all of us. If we are up on stage and people have spent the money to watch us, got their certs checked at the door, are wearing a mask, they want something to look forward to. You have got to take care of the audience. It is their night out, not ours.”
The Everyman panto has long served as a showcase for the talents of the younger students of CADA but unfortunately, they won’t be appearing this year because of Covid. Instead, classes will be filming individual pantos to be sent to parents and friends. Bermingham says he misses the energy — and critical skills — that they bring to the production.
“When the smallies start arriving…they would be our first audience in rehearsals. If they didn’t laugh, you would know there was something wrong. What I love is when they spot someone they know in the audience and just walk across the stage and start waving at them.”
Last year, there was no live panto at the Everyman, and instead it was recorded and streamed. It was a strange experience for Bermingham not to be working over Christmas but he channelled his energies elsewhere. “I missed it but at the same time it was kind of fantastic to be off. It was weird. My daughter lives in London and she was home and to be with her was great. I also did a charity swim on Christmas Day for Focus Ireland down in Myrtleville. I am doing it this year again for Dementia Ireland.”
The panto cast and crew carry out regular antigen tests and everybody who enters the CADA building has their temperature checked and details logged. Rehearsing and performing in the era of Covid takes its toll but for Bermingham, nothing will ever take away from the life-giving joy of being an actor.
“You get into the groove and you just do it. What really surprises me is the fear, when I’m doing the antigen test and I’m waiting for the result to come up. I was laughing with my wife the other night, I was saying, ‘Jesus, it’s like if we were teenagers and it’s a pregnancy test’. What scares me about it is the impact it can have. If one of us goes down, what happens and how does it affect everyone else?
“Tip wood, if I have to isolate for ten days, what happens then? This whole thing has been so horrible for everybody. There are people out there, God love them, who have got it and are still recovering and people who have lost family members. Losing a gig is a very small thing in the bigger scheme of things but actors live to perform. That is what I do. It is what I live for and I love it. We are kind of telling Covid, you are not going to win.”
- Aladdin runs at the Everyman Theatre from Dec 8 to Jan 16. everymancork.com.
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