Pantomime
Aganeza Scrooge
Tron, Glasgow
Mary Brennan
five stars
A stoatir of a change has come over Aganeza Scrooge since she first manifested at the Tron in 2012. Back then, panto-meister Johnny McKnight not only wrote the mischievous fun’n’pun-filled script, he donned Aganeza’s lurex frock and peerie heels to Dame it over Dickens’s hard-bitten meanie.
Now Louise McCarthy has come centre-stage as the battle-axe who snarls ‘Bah, humbug!’ to all things Christmassy. Within moments, McCarthy has put her own comedic stamp on the role - a bit of a Glesca’ Grinch, but hankering to be glam with it.
Check out those fabulous high kicks that punctuate sassy come-ons (to folk in the audience) and put-downs to any do-gooders seeking seasonal donations. Her hard-working clerk, single mother Cratchit, even has to beg on her knees for time off on Christmas Day.
READ MORE: A Very Crypto Christmas at Edinburgh Summerhall review
Aganeza roundly deserves her come-uppance! Enter the Ghosts of Panto Past, Present and Yet to Be - spooks that McKnight has tweaked from his earlier version, adding in nicely topical swipes at public figures and pop culture along the way. Tee-hee - ‘Panto Present’ in 2012 is now cheekily ‘Panto Past’ in the guise of Wee Jimmy Krankie with Julie Wilson Nimmo in full-on fandabidozi form.
She’s equally spot-on as a trachled Cratchit caring for an ever-optimistic Tiny Tim (Kyle Gardiner) - daft comedy is brushed through with affecting pathos, here. Panto Present? It’s a cleverly kitsch Barbie world, while the Future is AI and robotic - tho’ not even hi-tech can rescue Aganeza from an unloved old age…
Musical numbers - like the costumes and adaptable set - have wit and style while Sally Reid’s pacey direction and McKnight’s inventive script are well-served by a wonderfully versatile cast of six.
When a reformed Aganeza vows ‘to honour Panto in my heart’, it’s obviously the abiding mantra of this entire company - God bless ‘em, every one.
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