History of Castlebar Pantomime - 1995-1997
1995 saw Castlebar Pantomime celebrate its 10th Anniversary with a production of "Cinderella & The Three Bears". To mark this amateur group's achievement a commemorative program was launched in Coady's Friendly Tavern in Linen Hall Street compiled by Emer Mullins, Nan Monaghan, P.J. Mullins, Frank Forde & Marina Rice. To start each show in 1993, members of the Junior Chorus were dressed up as miniature versions of the previous 10 Pantomimes main characters to symbolise the shows of the past 10 years.
"Goldilocks" was without question the most colourful of any Castlebar Pantomime. The backdrops were outstanding & appeared life like from a distance courtesy of the talents of Michael Devanney, Alice Rodgers, Fiona Martin, Sinead Martin & Mary Reilly. Clown costumes, fairy costumes, woodland animals, circus performers, gypsies, a vampire & of course the Three Bears created a magical vision upon the Town Hall Stage. These costumes were either hired or created by Patsy Gaughan, Maureen Vahy, Wendy Cotter, Ann Nally, Sharon Lavelle, Fiona Kilbane & Delia O'Grady.
No detail was overlooked no matter how small while Fiona Kilbane produced this show. She was ably assisted by Ann Kerrigan as Choral Director, who also appeared as Fairy Gossamer, & Choreographers Jason Guthrie & Monica Masterson. Marina Rice who also appeared as The Fairy Queen was Stage Manageress who orchestrated miracles with the help of Mick Monaghan, Tom Jennings, Philip Lydon, Brian Lydon, Tom McGrath, Eugene Flynn, Gerry Duffy & Noel Lester. Lighting & sound effects were in the hands of Dave Murphy, Aideen Christie, Kevin Heraty, Terry Coleman & Frankie McDonald.
Michael Devanney, Ann Cresham & Orla Reilly nightly transformed many an ordinary face into an extraordinary character with their magical make up skills. Sadly some one who annually contributed to many a colour full face on stage had passed away shortly before "Goldilocks" was performed. Madeline Gallagher who had been involved in many a Town Hall stage production in the 60's & who was with Castlebar Pantomime in different roles since 1986, was sorely missed by those she had left behind as she went to enjoy a different Chorus on a far away stage.
Other contributors to the smooth running of "Goldilocks" were prompters Clare Kenny & Carmel Dooley, Door & Box Office co- coordinator Pat Tierney, M.C. Stephen Burns & the every versatile Robert Guthrie who juggled managing the Panto shop, with the taming of the very pernickety red Town Hall stage curtains.
The toughest roles that year were played by the Three Bears themselves. The heat of the lights & the weight of the costumes not to mention their awkwardness at certain crucial times during the night meant that Walter Donoghue as Daddy Bear, Mary McHale as Mammy Bear & Rachel Tuomey as Baby Bear truly earned their applause every night. The hero of the day was Sean Mulroy who stepped in at the 11th & a half-hour to play Willy Clott. Sean proved his worth as the talent he is, by repeating the script on the first performance, word perfect & without ever rehearsing it! Mind you if the cast had to hear him screech "But, but Mammy" one more time he would not have lasted a second week of the show. His interpretation of Free Willy as he nightly & unscripted released a mock fish from his possession onto the stage brought the house down.
"Goldilocks" was without question the most colourful of any Castlebar Pantomime. The backdrops were outstanding & appeared life like from a distance courtesy of the talents of Michael Devanney, Alice Rodgers, Fiona Martin, Sinead Martin & Mary Reilly. Clown costumes, fairy costumes, woodland animals, circus performers, gypsies, a vampire & of course the Three Bears created a magical vision upon the Town Hall Stage. These costumes were either hired or created by Patsy Gaughan, Maureen Vahy, Wendy Cotter, Ann Nally, Sharon Lavelle, Fiona Kilbane & Delia O'Grady.
No detail was overlooked no matter how small while Fiona Kilbane produced this show. She was ably assisted by Ann Kerrigan as Choral Director, who also appeared as Fairy Gossamer, & Choreographers Jason Guthrie & Monica Masterson. Marina Rice who also appeared as The Fairy Queen was Stage Manageress who orchestrated miracles with the help of Mick Monaghan, Tom Jennings, Philip Lydon, Brian Lydon, Tom McGrath, Eugene Flynn, Gerry Duffy & Noel Lester. Lighting & sound effects were in the hands of Dave Murphy, Aideen Christie, Kevin Heraty, Terry Coleman & Frankie McDonald.
Michael Devanney, Ann Cresham & Orla Reilly nightly transformed many an ordinary face into an extraordinary character with their magical make up skills. Sadly some one who annually contributed to many a colour full face on stage had passed away shortly before "Goldilocks" was performed. Madeline Gallagher who had been involved in many a Town Hall stage production in the 60's & who was with Castlebar Pantomime in different roles since 1986, was sorely missed by those she had left behind as she went to enjoy a different Chorus on a far away stage.
Other contributors to the smooth running of "Goldilocks" were prompters Clare Kenny & Carmel Dooley, Door & Box Office co- coordinator Pat Tierney, M.C. Stephen Burns & the every versatile Robert Guthrie who juggled managing the Panto shop, with the taming of the very pernickety red Town Hall stage curtains.
The toughest roles that year were played by the Three Bears themselves. The heat of the lights & the weight of the costumes not to mention their awkwardness at certain crucial times during the night meant that Walter Donoghue as Daddy Bear, Mary McHale as Mammy Bear & Rachel Tuomey as Baby Bear truly earned their applause every night. The hero of the day was Sean Mulroy who stepped in at the 11th & a half-hour to play Willy Clott. Sean proved his worth as the talent he is, by repeating the script on the first performance, word perfect & without ever rehearsing it! Mind you if the cast had to hear him screech "But, but Mammy" one more time he would not have lasted a second week of the show. His interpretation of Free Willy as he nightly & unscripted released a mock fish from his possession onto the stage brought the house down.
The most glamorous Dame of any Castlebar Pantomime before or since was played by the seemingly harmless Mayo General Medical Scientist, Mr. Liam Connell. Oh! but put that man in a well fitting dress, complete with the best legs in the business & our Liam was unstoppable as Dame Priscilla Clott (pictured right). Dame Priscilla saved the Three Bears from the evil clutches of Baron Heinrich Munchausen played by Michael Devanney (for such a sound fella, he always played the bad guy) & his bungling henchmen Ali & Oop complete with very convincing Indian accents (well they thought they had) played by that dynamic duo Donna Ruane & Karen Conway.
So anyway, off the Three Bears went back into the woods where Goldilocks played by Debbie Lester basically broke into their house, stole their food & had the cheek to take up squatters rights in their most comfortable bed.This is where the traditional story severely branches off. Enter Count Dracula played rather convincingly by Garry Wynne who fancies Goldilocks as the next Mrs. Dracula & teams up with the evil Baron (yes him again) to lure Goldilocks into his bat cave. Apparently Goldie's heart belonged to Robin Makepeace played by Jason Guthrie, who with the help of the Forrest Fairy played by Brenda Walsh flooded the Vampire's cave with day light & God knows at the time Garry was more at home in the middle of the night, destroyed the Vampire & saved the day. Well at least, until the Pantomime Committee came up with another script & another crazy set of events the following year. |
1n 1996 the Pantomime Committee decided that it was no longer realistic to expect one person to Direct & Produce the annual Castlebar Pantomime. The success & growth of the shows over 11 years required that the responsibility for different areas should be taken up by a Production Team instead of one exhausted individual. No strangers to a challenge, Nan Monaghan, Clare Kenny & Garry Wynne answered the call & together Produced "Sinbad & The Vampire". Clare Kenny left no one under any illusions as to who was one of the Bosses that year, with "Bainsteoir" emblazoned on her sweatshirt!
A fourth but unofficial member of this Production team was Ms Gypsy Kenny, the trusted canine companion of Mistress Clare Kenny. Gypsy contributed to rehearsals by barking when the Chorus went off key & keeping the cast in check when they missed a line. Gypsy herself was no stranger to the stage after successfully appearing in the suitably titled "Gypsy scene" in another years Panto! In an interview with the then PRO Ann Melvin later that year, Gypsy confided that while she thanked Clare Kenny for introducing her to the stage, she was terribly embarrassed that Mammy Clare had made her wear the Mayo colours around her neck all summer even after we lost the re-play in 1996!
Audiences came & went but one of the best performances that year was to an audience of about eight people on the first Sunday night. The weather that year was severe & roads were hazardous but, even though the hall was almost empty the show went on. Casts through out the years are reminded before each show, that whether there are two or two hundred people out there, everyone is entitled to the same show in the same professional manner. By God those guys saw the best performance that week. To this day no one is quite sure how the hall & stage inter twined into such a magical show or how the standard jokes became even more hilarious to the assembled audience & cast alike. It was like a story line from a soppy American Christmas film where everything went well & everyone went home happy despite the odds stacked against them.
A fourth but unofficial member of this Production team was Ms Gypsy Kenny, the trusted canine companion of Mistress Clare Kenny. Gypsy contributed to rehearsals by barking when the Chorus went off key & keeping the cast in check when they missed a line. Gypsy herself was no stranger to the stage after successfully appearing in the suitably titled "Gypsy scene" in another years Panto! In an interview with the then PRO Ann Melvin later that year, Gypsy confided that while she thanked Clare Kenny for introducing her to the stage, she was terribly embarrassed that Mammy Clare had made her wear the Mayo colours around her neck all summer even after we lost the re-play in 1996!
Audiences came & went but one of the best performances that year was to an audience of about eight people on the first Sunday night. The weather that year was severe & roads were hazardous but, even though the hall was almost empty the show went on. Casts through out the years are reminded before each show, that whether there are two or two hundred people out there, everyone is entitled to the same show in the same professional manner. By God those guys saw the best performance that week. To this day no one is quite sure how the hall & stage inter twined into such a magical show or how the standard jokes became even more hilarious to the assembled audience & cast alike. It was like a story line from a soppy American Christmas film where everything went well & everyone went home happy despite the odds stacked against them.
Michael Devaney created make up miracles that year as he created Count Draculation played by James Mannion & his two wives Rhesus Positive & Rhesus Negative played by Michelle Monaghan & Anne Kerrigan (pictured left). White face paint, black eye liner & blue eyelids & cheekbones successfully created the Vampire look. It took a lot of make up, but at least it was mostly white & came off quickly.
Karen Conway who played the part of Sulatonkina, an extremely darkened Guardian of a South Seas Island did not fare so well. Michael Devanney covered her face in black face paint leaving her eye & mouth area in white & painted fluorescent tribal designs in brilliant colours around her forehead & cheeks. The over all effect of a character dressed head to toe in black & animal print with six inch heels, wearing a four foot high head dress was stunning visually. But while it took about twenty five minutes to complete the make up, it took well over an hour to successfully remove it. Which meant that poor Karen was still sitting in the Town Hall dressing room removing make up while the rest of the cast were comfortably sitting down to last orders in Coady's! |
Garry Wynne was not only part of the Production Team but, also appeared as the Dame, Mother Salubria (right). Garry's costume will always appear in the annals of Pantomime as the most inventive. Garry wanted to appear as credible a Dame as any that graced the stage of the Town Hall. Garry completed his costume with his Mothers apron, painted Dock Martens, an extreme of green eye shadow, red wig, larger than life red lips & a brazier cleverly padded with jelly which moved & wobbled at every opportunity Garry could muster!
Castlebar Pantomime PRO Ann Melvin made the discovery of the '90s when she convinced GMIT students Adrian Long, Sean Duffy, Keith Keily, Mark O'Malley, Padraic Duffy & Vincent Durcan to join the Senior Chorus. The lads were nicknamed Boyzone by the cast & the boy band themselves had serious competition. Each time the GMIT lads appeared on stage, the audience went wild & screamed out their names. The audience reaction was both hilarious & deafening as the week progressed, to the point where people were making return journeys to see them & the music they were dancing to could at times not be heard. |
The comedy duo for "Sinbad & The Vampire" was Mary McHale & Sharon Lavelle (left) playing two sailors Red Rudolf & Whitey Snow. In one scene the two girls who were playing two men, appeared as two men pretending to be two women! Confused?, so were both Sharon & Mary. Sharon Lavelle's costume gave Madonna a run for her money that year, proof of which can be seen in the photo gallery.
The brave hero was played by Walter Donoghue who drew the blinds on ever again appearing as an animal after his role as Daddy Bear in "Goldilocks" & quite happily sailed into the title role of Sinbad. His romantic interest was played by Panto new comer Jennifer Hopkins who played Selina, the daughter of the Captain of the Crested Dolphin played by the petite Padraic Murray. Padraic God bless him, put in a Trojan performance but, the lines at the end of the show which explained the whole plot, nightly eluded him. For old time's sake Padraic .... the birds started to sing around the castle, flowers popped up......
But Padraic was not the only one having trouble with his lines as the man himself reminded us. Here is his own version of helping out a fellow actor during "Sinbad & The Vampire" - "On the Third or fourth night when all were comfortable with their lines .... one man came on stage as the Lord Chamberlain. He was to describe how the Captain's daughter was captured & taken away so that Captain Colombo & Sinbad could be the heroes & rescue her in 1996 "Sinbad & The Vampire".
Unfortunately when softening of the tongue happens as a result of Coady's, the lines did not come to mind so, the Captain (Padraig Murray) helped out as follows : "A stranger you say" says the Captain, " Ah, yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. "A stranger with a nice piece of carpet perhaps" the Captain suggested. "Oh yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. "Don't tell me he rolled it out & invited the Princess & my daughter to step on it" suggested the Captain. "Why, yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. At this stage the captain volunteered the Lord Chamberlain his lines which he gratefully accepted, "Now after me .... No sooner had she stepped on the carpet, it rose in the air & brought the ....." The rescue was swift & the audience were glad, but not as glad as the Lord Chamberlain!
The brave hero was played by Walter Donoghue who drew the blinds on ever again appearing as an animal after his role as Daddy Bear in "Goldilocks" & quite happily sailed into the title role of Sinbad. His romantic interest was played by Panto new comer Jennifer Hopkins who played Selina, the daughter of the Captain of the Crested Dolphin played by the petite Padraic Murray. Padraic God bless him, put in a Trojan performance but, the lines at the end of the show which explained the whole plot, nightly eluded him. For old time's sake Padraic .... the birds started to sing around the castle, flowers popped up......
But Padraic was not the only one having trouble with his lines as the man himself reminded us. Here is his own version of helping out a fellow actor during "Sinbad & The Vampire" - "On the Third or fourth night when all were comfortable with their lines .... one man came on stage as the Lord Chamberlain. He was to describe how the Captain's daughter was captured & taken away so that Captain Colombo & Sinbad could be the heroes & rescue her in 1996 "Sinbad & The Vampire".
Unfortunately when softening of the tongue happens as a result of Coady's, the lines did not come to mind so, the Captain (Padraig Murray) helped out as follows : "A stranger you say" says the Captain, " Ah, yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. "A stranger with a nice piece of carpet perhaps" the Captain suggested. "Oh yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. "Don't tell me he rolled it out & invited the Princess & my daughter to step on it" suggested the Captain. "Why, yes" replied the Lord Chamberlain. At this stage the captain volunteered the Lord Chamberlain his lines which he gratefully accepted, "Now after me .... No sooner had she stepped on the carpet, it rose in the air & brought the ....." The rescue was swift & the audience were glad, but not as glad as the Lord Chamberlain!
To complete the cast there was Jason Guthrie who played Prince Rory. Jason might be a wonderful Choreographer but by 1996, he was developing a reputation in Panto land as the guy who kept losing his Princesses & expecting other people to go & get her back! Sinbad & Co. with the help of Muscles played by Donna Ruane who's only prop was a bottle & Lar Davis as Lord Chamberlain who did not need Clare Kenny to prompt as he had Padraic Murray; all went off in search of Princess Aisling played by Debbie Lester who was kidnapped by the Vampire & brought to the South Sea Island. When all of this was discovered, Prince Rory sent the crew of the Crested Dolphin off to rescue her.
Where would this cast be without the efforts of the talented guys & gals behind the scenes? Des Byrne as stage manager made sure that all was ship shape with his crew of Joe O'Grady, Mick Monaghan, Andrew Monaghan, Martin Lydon, Robert Cunningham, Tom McGrath, Aiden Browne Monica Masterson & Marina Rice. Des had a second gifted crew in the area of Set Design & Painting with James Mannion, Marie Brinklow & Marina Rice. Dave Murphy & Tom Jennings had a similarly talented Lighting & Special Effects crew in Edin Christie, Brian Mannion, Mary G. Martyn & again Robert Cunningham. Costume department comprised of Marina Rice, Della O'Grady, Fiona Kilbane & Patsy Gaughan. The cast's faces became canvases for the Make Up department with Ann Cresham, Michael Devanney, Sharon Blake & Irene Gillespie being the artists. Although things have changed today, in the Town Hall days of Panto, shows would begin with a Sunday Matinee & evening show, then there was Monday night, a break on Tuesday (as God himself would not dare to interrupt Bingo), nightly shows from Wednesday to a further Matinee on Sunday with the close of show on Sunday night. This resulted in an exhausting nine shows in eight days with the majority of cast on stage also completing full days at school or work. 1997 saw the return of the 1996 Production Team as they brought "Cinderella" to the Town Hall stage. "Cinderella" was previously presented by Castlebar Pantomime in 1987, 1960 & way back in 1951. The title role of "Cinderella" was played by Anne Kerrigan who cleverly enlisted the help of her sister Lisa Kerrigan to act as her stand in during the all important changing from rags to riches scene. Garry Wynne found the role he spent his life rehearsing for when he glided into the part of Cinderella's Prince Charming. Michelle Monaghan who had previously played the part of a fairy while in the Junior Chorus of 1987 was promoted to the role of Cinderella's friend Sally. Sharon Lavelle gladly accepted the part of Fairy Godmother which allowed her to gracefully move onto the stage rather than be in the undignified position of being dragged on in a basket during "Sinbad & The Vampire". Walter Donoghue downed his curtain hooks & took up the role of Buttons, while Sean Duffy "welcomed" the role of Dandini. But as in any Panto tale where there are good guys, the bad guys are usually on the other side of the stage. Maisy & Daisy The Ugly sisters were played by James Mannion & Mary McHale who were despised by the younger members of the audience for their unfair treatment of poor Cinderella. The Ugly sisters made their way to the stage in a rather unorthodox manner. James Mannion as Maisie drove through the audience towards the stage on a genuine motorbike with Daisy played by Mary McHale peddling desperately on a push bike trying to keep up with him. The audience's reaction to the motor bike was hilarious, as none of them expected a motor bike to be driven in from the side corridor of the Town Hall to the stage complete with roaring engine, black smoke & being driven by a guy in a dress! |
But the person for whom the audience had the greatest reaction to was Donna Ruane who played Baroness Delilah, Cinderella's Stepmother. Between make up & costume, Mr & Mrs Nat Ruane had difficulty in recognising their own daughter, but Donna's talent shone supreme & brought the house down each night. Baroness Delilah did not make life easy for Cinderella's father Baron Percival played by Michael Rice but a quick trip back to the Kingdom of Swinford to recharge his batteries, meant that Michael successfully saw Cinderella reach a happy ending. Last but not least the acting supremo Mr Lawrence J. Davis took a break from his Hollywood production schedule to appear as Major Domo. A fact that was remembered as he received yet another Oscar statuette that same year.
Back stage it was all go with the usual suspects, painting scenery, creating props, changing back drops, illuminating the stage, creating costumes, applying make up etc. New comers to this blur of activity were Brian Mannion, Martin Lydon, Philip Lydon, Robert Cunningham, Breege Farragher, Heather Heneghan, Kevin McNeela (Webster), Angela Leydon, Geraldine Heverin, Donna Rogan, Sarah Ward, Catherine Diskin, Chris Leonard, Niamh O'Neil, Elsie McTigue, Pat Tierney, George Moran, Joe O'Grady, Della O'Grady to name but a few. Des Byrne created a visual masterpiece with his creation of Cinderella's carriage. Basically constructed from wood & bolts from the back, from the audience's view point, it appeared to glide across the stage on free moving wheels & created a wonderful illusion of a true carriage worthy of any Princess on her way to a ball.
Back stage it was all go with the usual suspects, painting scenery, creating props, changing back drops, illuminating the stage, creating costumes, applying make up etc. New comers to this blur of activity were Brian Mannion, Martin Lydon, Philip Lydon, Robert Cunningham, Breege Farragher, Heather Heneghan, Kevin McNeela (Webster), Angela Leydon, Geraldine Heverin, Donna Rogan, Sarah Ward, Catherine Diskin, Chris Leonard, Niamh O'Neil, Elsie McTigue, Pat Tierney, George Moran, Joe O'Grady, Della O'Grady to name but a few. Des Byrne created a visual masterpiece with his creation of Cinderella's carriage. Basically constructed from wood & bolts from the back, from the audience's view point, it appeared to glide across the stage on free moving wheels & created a wonderful illusion of a true carriage worthy of any Princess on her way to a ball.