Irish Times reviewers get a taste of some theatre for children running over the Christmas season.
The Blizzard Wizard
Lyric Theatre, Belfast
There are no words to describe Zoe Seaton and Paul "Bosco" McEneaney's crisp new play for young children. Indeed, there are no words at all, for this imaginative piece of physical theatre relies entirely on vividly expressive performances, fantastical visual effects, magic, illusion and an atmospheric score.
It is almost cinematic in construction, beginning with the normality of a family Christmas Eve, with elderly grandad trimming the tree, packing the parcels and trying to keep his curious little grandad trimming the tree, packing the parcels and trying to keep his curious little granddaughter Holly from peeking into a particularly intriguing package, tied with a shimmering golden ribbon. But that normality is fractured when Grandpa goes to bed, leaving wide-awake Holly to discover a Pandora's box of mixed delights, lurking in the jumble of the upstairs attic, secret home of the Blizzard Wizard.
Through a series of sometimes scary, sometimes enchanting, episodes, Holly encounters the good magic of the Wizard set against the rougher wiles of a scheming chancer, whose glittering jacket and jaunty hat give him a deceptively magnetic appeal.
Neil Martin's terrific, ever-present score is virtually a character in its own right, tinkly and tuneful turning to syncopated and clunky, as the mood of the story changes and Holly is brought back to earth with a sharpened sense of the meaning of Christmas. Jack Walsh, Sarah Dillon and Seamus Allen give beautifully realised, fluent performances, creating characters who invade the imaginations of the rapt young audience without ever patronising or preaching to them.
Runs until December 28th. Box office tel: Belfast 381081.
Jane Coyle
Jack and the Beanstalk
Cork Opera House
An enthusiastic cast, a very bright band conducted by Derek Cremin and supporting the musical direction of David Hayes, excellent costumes and good singing are the mainstays of the Cork Opera House production of Jack and the Beanstalk. They offset the suspicion that script-writer Karl Broderick has lost the plot, and not just of the fairy-tale on which the pantomime is based (it takes an hour and a half to get to the beanstalk).
Panto is a challenge to any writer, requiring a balance between childish humour and adult wit; the broad approach taken by Broderick mixes both and results in farce, with a nod to toilet training and a heavy, knowing wink to sexual innuendo.
The gusto with which Frank Mackey vamps his way through the presentation of Dame Winnie Windmill is, to tell the truth, overheated. There are opportunities for some subtlety - especially in the person of Ciaran Bermingham as Timmy Tiddles - but these are ignored, just as director Brian Flynn abandons the essential element of magic in favour of sound and fury.
Somehow young leads Irene Warren and Andrew Holden manage to maintain a romantic and tuneful aura, and although the cow Pat (geddit?) seems to have an advanced case of mastitis, Megan Blyth and Karen Tynan dance almost as well as their colleagues in the chorus.
Runs until January 18th. Box office tel: 021 4270022
Mary Leland
The Twits
An Grianán Theatre
Roald Dahl, as any rapt 10- year-old will tell you, is the children's author par excellence. Usually, however, he comes in book form. But An Grianán theatre has taken one of his classics, The Twits, and transformed it into a wonderful Christmas show. Adapted by David Wood and directed by Myles Breen, the stage version tells the story of that rather nasty pair, whose only pleasure in life is making each other, and everyone else, as miserable as possible.
Incorporating elements of slapstick and pastiche Mr and Mrs Twit travel to deepest Africa to capture a family of monkeys, the Mugglewumps, for a circus they plan to set up.
The Mugglewumps are, predictably, miserable in captivity. With the help, and of course active connivance, of the enthusiastic audience, the Mugglewumps manage to escape, and all live happily ever after - except of course The Twits, who end up glued to the floor in a humorous inversion of the nasty tricks they forced upon the monkey family.
Transitions from page to stage are notoriously difficult, especially when the original is such a well-loved classic. However, this one really worked. Paddy Jenkins and Gene Rooney give ace performances in lead, incorporating elements of slapstick and physical theatre. The kids just loved them. The Mugglewump family were also totally convincing, and their monkeying around had the children agog.
An Grianán boasts a huge stage, and this - plus the amphitheatre itself - was employed to full effect, with monkeys running amock trying to hide from the resolute, and ridiculous, Mr Twit the monkeyhunter. This was accompanied by a vivid musical score, dramatic and transporting, conjuring up the sounds of the jungle. The soundtrack, by Guy Barriscale, was a crucial element in the success of the show - all the wonders of modern sound technology were employed to create an atmospheric, powerful effect.
The set, the work of the same maestro, was colourful and engaging, with a few nice touches, like the paintings of the Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream, to engage the attention of the adults present.
The show, which runs until Saturday in An Grianán, moves to The Pavillion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire after Christmas.
Mary Phelan
