| Christmas Panto 2000
- Oliver Twisted |
|
26th/27th December @ The
George |
Review 1 : By Pepsi Boy
Many of you will already
know the layout of the stage in the George. It is not blessed with
'tiered seating' or a full view of the stage so certain spots have to be
aimed for with military precision as experience at the panto in '99
thought me. The tickets for the panto were available at the bar well in
advance and it never ceases to amaze me why punters don't bother to get
them in advance, not alone saving £2 per ticket but guaranteeing a
quick entry to their favorite bar stool! -- and stool it is, I wish they
had backs on them but that's another side issue.
I was outside the premises
at five fifteen, (well actually my friend was) trying to keep warm
waiting for the doors open at five thirty??? Quite a que of
determined ppl there stretching back up the street; getting amazing
looks from people in cars and buses going by on the roadside.
"Which sale is this" types of looks on their faces. Made me
feel particularly cool!! By the time they opened the doors twenty
minutes late , I was cool, frozen in fact. We slipped in quickly
avoiding the buy at the door brigade and ordered fortifications - joined
by a few more of our friends glad of our foresight ;-)
We knew something was
imminent when Dj Karen got in her box and started her sound and
fog machine up. Karen was actually integral to the whole panto and her
one or two miss timings/selections provided some extra laughter
for cast and public, prompting Shirley at one stage to quip "Who
ever said that lesbians were suppose to be organized?"
To say the panto was based
on the title was a bit of a misnomer. OK the first introductory bit was
alright but went on to several different themes each having their own
subplot with a tenuous connection between them. The '99 panto did have a
fairly defined plot running through it, but I think in an effort to
appeal to everyone it was a bit over ambitious and a lot of work for the
cast. Work was put into learning lines and the acting part of it and as
always I give full marks for the effort put in by all. It is both time
consuming and hard work at a time when every member of the cast would be
very busy in the run up to Christmas so well done in that respect.
Almost every drag queen in
Dublin had a part in it and was nice to see Penny Bridge coming out of
retirement to take part as well though her re acquaintance with
high heels in the final act nearly brought her to the floor :-) Actually
the final act was one of the best part of the show and I don't mean that
in a facetious sort of way - it was nice and was well done. Bear in mind
that the stage doesn't have the 'exit stage left' facility with cast
having to run up and down the nearby stairs to change.
It was by no means a
packed house, which was good as at one stage their was a mad chase
into the audience and around the the full length of the bar by two of
the girls. Its hard to judge the crowd reaction to such an event
as there are those who are really into drag artists and
those who came for a bit of post Christmas dinner
relaxation. Personally I thought it could have been better written
and choreographed but the Moore street wrapping paper bit was
really classic. Brill bit of scripting that! Went down well with the
true Dubs. Nice to see the two dancers Brian and Ryan there too taking
part. I do quite like them :-)
Overall then, parts of it
were excellent, which saved it, but try and improve the plot for next
year cos the quality of artists is there. As my school reports use to
read "Could do better"
Is it really necessary too
to run so much behind advertised schedule - think this may have more to
do with management plans than the performers themselves!! After it
ended the queens mixed and mingled with the crowd which was nice taking
a well earned 'fag' and Smirnoff ice.
The tables in front of the
stage were cleared away quickly and Dj Karen started up the
dance music which soon had ppl back on the stage and floor
strutting their own stuff
An enjoyable evening
if u have a good view of the stage and some good company.
Review 2 : By BrianeyG
I think Shirley and Co. made something of a rod for their own backs in
the '98 panto, in that they did such a fantastic job that year that it's been hard to match, let alone beat. So last year's, and this years, efforts
seem a bit disappointing, but in fairness this year's wasn't bad at all.
One annoying thing thought was that the show didn't start 'til 19.45, (on the Tuesday at least), though it was advertised as doors at 17:30, show
at 18:30, which got things off to a slow start.
The first big number was 'Hard knock life' from Annie, which went down very well. They didn't really develop the 'Oliver Twist(ed)' theme at all, it
was just loosely based in an orphanage. The only other reference to 'Oliver' I remember was two characters lip-synching 'Who will buy my
sweet red roses', one selling red roses, the other a box of Cadbury's Roses,
and they had a bit of a fight for supremacy. A good laugh. Since 'Oliver!'
was one of my favourite movies when I was a little gay kid, around 1968, I
had thought there would be more references to it, so that was a bit disappointing, just for me personally. Anyway, the show carried on with
all the usual suspects...Anty Panti, Ryan and Brian, Annie Balls, Penny Bridge came out of retirement to give her Wonderwoman routine another whirl.
There was some very funny (and somewhat cruel) slagging off of Dublin street
hawkers (I'll never be able to walk down Moore St with a straight face again). I think Penny rescued Shirley from the orphanage or something at
the end (the sixth pint was begining to hit at this stage, they'd kept us waiting so long for the show, and the very hospitable outdoors group
have a fairly short 'round elapse time'). If there was an actual storyline I'd
lost track of it a bit at this stage.
Anyway, they did the big 'grand finale' thing at the end to the Paul McCartney /frog chorus 'we all stand together', good choice of track,
and I'd say all but the pickiest of punters went home happy. The slow start
was really the only annoying bit.
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