IN the medieval period, the jester charged with the crucial task of being master of the Christmas revels was also known as the Lord of Misrule. These days our top pantomime performers play a similar role.
A good panto should be more than a little chaotic, with ad-libbing, corpsing and other forms of unscripted japery adding a dose of Saturnalian spice to whatever story is – however negligently – being told. There is no pantomime in Scotland more prone to such glorious anarchy than the festive offering at His Majesty’s Theatre (HMT), Aberdeen.
This is down, to a huge degree, to the magnificent leadership of Alan McHugh, who – in addition to being HMT’s long-established, entirely brilliant panto dame – is also the writer and director of the show. The Granite City’s panto has hosted many a headline-grabbing star over the last 20 years (including Elaine C Smith, Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole and, this year, Gary: Tank Commander), but McHugh (who has been ever-present throughout those two decades) is indisputably the driving force behind arguably Scotland’s boldest and most hilarious pantomime.
This year McHugh plays Nurse Nellie McDuff, adoptive mother of Aurora (Jemma Ferries), a princess who has been hidden away from the titles and trappings of royalty in an effort to protect her from the evil witch Carabosse (the utterly boo-able Julie Coombe). Dame McHugh plays opposite another McHugh (Greg, no relation), aka Gary: Tank Commander, who appears as (who else?) … Gary: Tank Commander.
Not that this is in any way a problem. Gary, as we have seen in panto seasons past (at such venues as the SEC Armadillo and the King’s Theatre, Glasgow), is a comic character perfectly suited to the role of the cheery pantomime pal (not least when he’s boasting that “ma tank’s got radge artillery”).
Indeed, the mini tank-driving, cheesy pasta-loving McHugh proves to be a fabulous partner for his gap-toothed, implausibly cross-dressed namesake. This is especially the case when the pair head off-script during a Vaudevillian tongue-twisting skit, in which the dame is called, variously, “massive mammy”, “muscular mammy” and, most surreally, “methadone mammy”.
Alan McHugh’s script is, needless to say, packed with the usual silliness, including a great gag about the theft of Nellie’s stash of Red Bull (“I don’t know how these people sleep at night”). The supporting cast is strong across the board, with Paul J Corrigan impressing as Slimeball (Carabosse’s ultimately redeemed son) and Ferries, a refreshingly gutsy Aurora.
Danielle Jam is a delightful, Doric-speaking Spirit of Pantomime, while Michael Karl-Lewis (who is a former Young Scottish Musical Theatre Performer of The Year finalist) leads from the front where singing is concerned. The cast is supported by a fine, high-energy, high-kicking song-and-dance troupe.
However, the general rule of an HMT panto is barely controlled chaos, and that, I’m glad to report, is what we get. There are occasional lulls in which a story threatens to break out, but Dame McHugh and co. ensure that pantomime mayhem is soon restored.
Until January 7: aberdeenperformingarts.com
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