'The panto is part of a Cork Christmas, like spiced beef': Cork duo celebrate a decade writing together

Ten years ago, Trevor Ryan and Frank Mackey were given the blessing by the then CEO of Cork Opera House, Mary Hickson, to write the next pantomime for the venue, following the death of the much-missed director Bryan Flynn.

The pair have been doing it ever since, and approach the annual gig with enthusiasm allied with a lot of hard work.

Tomorrow, when the curtain goes up on their latest creation, Cinderella, they will be celebrating a decade of making panto magic together.

When I spoke to Trevor and Frank during rehearsals in the Lough Community Centre recently, they were working on their 23rd draft of the Cinderella panto, and they pointed out it will probably have further changes.

Naturally, the bike shed in Leinster House, costing a vast sum of money, is referenced in the script, and any other daft stories in the news will be grist to the mill for the two writers. (Enoch Burke was referenced last year and may pop up again. Donald Trump will of course get a look-in.)

Trevor also directs the panto, while Frank plays the larger-than-life Dame, Nanny Nellie.

The duo say they don’t stray too far from the original fairytale which has enchanted children down through the years.

“We both want the magic to happen,” says Frank, a Cork-born actor and writer based in Dublin. “We know from West End shows to take bits from them and see if we can afford to put them in.”

But all the aesthetics in the world, the best special effects, the best costumes and lighting won’t hold the audience if the writing isn’t strong. Trevor says that their script “isn’t formulaic at all”, adding: “It’s very different every year.

“This is the second time we’re doing Cinderella. The last time was nine years ago. But if there are five lines that are repeated, that’s as much. It’s a fresh new script.”

Recalling past pantomimes, Trevor says the most technical one to date they worked on was Peter Pan, staged at Cork Opera House in 2019.

“That was a huge challenge for us. It hadn’t ever been done on the Cork Opera House stage as a panto. There was a lot of flying in it.”

Frank’s favourite panto that he and Trevor worked on was Aladdin in 2018. “We got it right. It’s a story that changes quickly. There was great energy around it.” (And judging from a peek at rehearsals, where the ensemble danced with vigour, this year’s panto promises to be as polished as ever.)

Frank models his Dame “on an old aunt from West Cork, so Nanny Nellie borders between Cork and West Cork. She went to a country school. I’ve honed in on her character very tightly. When you look back ten years ago, she is now a completely different character. She has become warmer and more endearing. She is also cheeky, honest and true.

“When the kids come to see me, I’m not just a dame to them. I’m the aunt or the nanny. I take on a persona that is very real to them.”

The writers always make sure to impart a positive message to the children in the audience.

“It’s about being kind to each other. That’s very important now because of the world we live in. Then, once the kids get excited, let the magic happen.”

Asked if it is difficult to commandeer the attention of young audiences, given the competing modern attractions of phone screens, Trevor says: “The audience is in for two-and-a-half hours. There are no tablets, no screens, no phones, just laughing; and it’s the same with the parents and grandparents.

“The panto is part of the Cork Christmas, like spiced beef. It’s the most wonderful magical form of theatre.

“I have been involved in panto for about 27 Christmases, a time when I haven’t been around my family.

“It takes up the month of December and most of January (not to mention rehearsals in November).”

Pantomime, far from being the poor relation of theatre, is very much coveted by actors for the steady work it provides for three months.

Trevor casts the panto with the producer (Rory Murphy) and the choreographer and musical director.

“We try to cast locally as much as we can,” he says, “But if we don’t find the right people here, we go to London or Dublin.

“Cinderella is played by Dubliner, Megan Pottinger. She played Jill last year in Jack And The Beanstalk. It’s rare that we repeat the lead.

“She is so talented with the most sublime voice. Her acting is true, there’s great sincerity there and a great sense of comedy.”

Cork’s own Alison McCormack and Julie Maguire are the all-singing, all-dancing wicked stepsisters while Michael Grennell returns to the Cork Opera House as Cinderella’s menacing stepmother, Baroness Melania Hardup.

Cinderella’s prince is played by Paul Wilkins. Her sidekick, Buttons, is played by Brian Ó Muirí. From Blarney, he recently finished his run in the West End production of The Book Of Mormon.

“When young actors and dancers go off to work in the UK, they want to come home to the Opera House to work on the panto because the standard is so high,” says Frank.

Trevor’s six-year-old daughter, Anabel, is one of six children rotating on different nights as the young Cinderella in a flashback sequence.

“Anabel goes to musical theatre classes. For these children in the panto, it’s all movement and no dialogue or singing.

“But Anabel is finding it a bit stressful. I tell her that she has got to do it, she has got to follow through,” says Trevor.

Spoken like a true professional!

Cinderella is at the Cork Opera House from November 30-January 19. See www.corkoperahouse.ie