“Babes in the Wood” pantomime St. Mary’s musical society Nava
The St Mary’s Musical Society Navan’s production of Babes in the Wood at the Solstice Arts Centre Navan was simply one of the best pantos I’ve seen.
From the first note, it’s a rip roaring rollicking ride packed with shrewd humour and gags; there’s even some jokes. This along with the musical numbers which are sung with gusto and clever dance routines keep you entranced for the whole show, I couldn’t say I knew what was going to happen next but it was always fun. The plot is certainly interesting.
The Sheriff of Rottingham is like a cross between a demented Steve Martin and Edmund Blackadder with a bit of Graham Norton thrown in. His assistant, the simpering Facebook is forever poking people and telling us what he’s up to.
Nanny Polly Ticks and Robin Hood should have their own shows, poor Maid Marion, it’s difficult to compete with six foot men in skirts and aunt sally make-up. The slapstick and running jokes between Friar Tuck and Little John are funny.
There’s some interesting scenes, which I thought, were good use of the stage, the joust and the WWF wrestling in particular went down well.
Unlike other pantomimes I’ve seen recently, there’s more than just a nod to audience participation - all the players cultivated good relationships with their audience and elicited Boos and Oh yes he dids! among others, at a constant rate. On the whole, it was a fresh energetic look at the traditional panto, not jaded by hundreds of years of theatre tradition, which was well worth seeing. With not a single Fair City head in sight.
I found it surprisingly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, more importantly my two little boys were laughing and shouting along with everything.
The Solstice Arts Centre Navan is a superb modern venue, everyone including small children had a good view of the stage and the acoustics were excellent.
I would definitely recommend this production and I’ll certainly be watching for SMMS’s next show, Copacabana, opening in March.
Babes runs untill Sunday 31st jan, €18 in or 4 for €60.
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