Review: Panto proves to be a real Doric delight at HMT
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The weather outside may have been frightful, but inside HMT it truely was delightful as Beauty And The Beast, the spectacular panto brought magic to the stage once again.
His Majesty’s dame and panto stalwart Alan McHugh's opening line of “We’re back!” was greeted with a roaring cheer as his Dame Bella Buchan launched into jokes and comic turns including the ubiquitous more than occasional risky risque one-liners designed to go completely over the heads of the children and which he quipped "are more likely to shut us down than Covid-19".
Joining him as her son Boaby is Paul-James Corrigan who excels in the role of the dafty, forming a great double act with Alan.
Completing a trio of fun, Joyce Falconer's Mrs Potty is every bit the epitome of the Torry quine going full on Doric, and then some, and then a bit more.
A shene about the Sean Connery Appreshiation Shociety dishcushing where Sean ushed to sit in the city on a satin shettee was a real stand-out turn this year, with Alan falling the victim of his own word-play.
The three also had centre stage in the Beast's castle with a ghost sequence, some forgetfulness over characters names and a ceilidh dance number.
Aberdeen’s own, Laura Main as the Enchantress shows a real twinkle of magic and a little touch of mischief that maybe audiences don't always associate her with.
This was especially true in the full on slapstick Music Man routine performed with Alan, Paul and Joyce which has become and increasingly popular part of the show over the years and had some belting gags and prat-falls.
Lets not forget the heroine and hero, Danielle Jam is a fantstic and very Doric fiesty and romantic Aiberdeen Belle, and Mark Wood as plays a fantastic turn as baddy, Angus McSneer.
Special mention goes to Liam Brailford from the ensemble who was called to play the Beast with a day’s notice after principal Calum McElroy had to to into Covid self-isolation and put in a great turn.
The panto is full of songs and dance and always has affection at its heart, both for the art form and for the audience.
And this year, that was exemplified when Alan announced there would be no 'bringing doon of the cloot' for the traditional audience participation song.
Instead, he sang a tribute to the people of Aberdeen and the north-east for what we have all been through in these past 18 months.
Sung to the tune of the Northern Lights it was his heartfelt tribute to the city and its people and the audience rose to their feet and joined in with a rousing rendition of the real words, showing the affection both for the city and for the panto.
