Pantomime

My Mum and I took my two 3-year-old nieces to the panto in the Cork Opera House.

This year, it was Alice in Wonderland, and a wonderland it surely was. The set, costumes, and props were so remarkable that I just had to disobey the ban on photography and take a quick, albeit blurry, snap. I was swiftly chastised by one of the diligent ushers for doing so.

I performed in pantos on the Cork Opera House stage from the ages of 9-16, so it's always a bit nostalgic for me, though the modern pantos don't have much in common with the ones I was in back in the day!

The two small girls adored it, though one was a bit scared of the Knave of Hearts, played rather too convincingly by my friend Michael Grennell. Their favourite was the White Queen, played by the gorgeous Gemma Sugrue (my not-so-secret girl crush).

The girls sang and danced their way back to the car, climbing onto a marble slab on Patrick St to do a performance of their own. It was a struggle to get them to agree to go home. I can remember that buzzy feeling so well. I reckon it will be no time before they are up on the stage themselves giving it socks!