REVIEW

Bernice Harrisonreviews Peter Pan, at Tivoli Theatre, Dublin

The big question for this panto wasn't whether Joe Conlan as Buffy would be hilarious, that's a given, or if Alan Hughes as Sammy Sausages would get the audience roaring back, he's a natural crowd wrangler, it was whether this very Dublin panto would successfully make the transition from Liberty Hall to the much bigger Tivoli Theatre on the other side of the river.

It has, and writer Karl Broderick and director Daryn Crosbie have managed to keep the intimacy and giddy fun that's long been a trademark of this seasonal show.

The plot follows the traditional Peter Pan story with the addition of the governess Buffy von Trap with her catch-phrase "tanks a thousand" and Sammy Sausages to help rescue the Darling children and Peter Pan from the clutches of Captain Hook.

Big Brother winner Brian Dowling camps it up as Hook, all high dudgeon and sighs in black eyeliner and ruffles. After a nervous, slightly low-key start, he soon settles into the baddie role and gets the kids booing. It doesn't matter so much that his singing isn't the strongest: there are plenty of engaging singers in the cast, particularly Aimee O'Sullivan (Wendy), Donal Skehan (Peter Pan), Kevin Hynes (Tom, the lead pirate) and the energetic band of Lost Boys, dancers and singers cast from several performing arts and stage schools.

The star child on stage (and there are many to chose from) has to be nine-year-old Jason Quinn as teddy-toting Michael, the youngest Darling; his confidence and talent shone through.

The set by Richard Levins, which included a multi-level pirate ship's deck, was impressive and used superbly, particularly by choreographer Debbie Kiernan whose dancers created a colourful spectacle and moved the action along with pzazz.

Musical director Ross O'Connor is very much hands-on, sitting to the side of the stage providing comic sound-effects and interacting with the cast, which adds to the fun.

Joe Conlan, our best traditional panto dame, is, however, the key to the success of the production. He is so strong in his extraordinary costumes (by Florrie O'Brien) that perhaps he is given too much to do and maybe the rest of the cast should be given more gags and comic turns.

Children in the audience shouted on cue, booed and roared laughing - what more would you want from a panto?