Athlone's panto is back - oh yes it is!

This evening (Wednesday), for the first time in more than two years, the Dean Crowe Theatre stage will be alive with the sounds and colour of Athlone's annual panto.

A production which usually takes place in the aftermath of Christmas is this year occurring on Spring's doorstep, with six performances of the Robin Hood-themed show between today and Sunday.

The performances will be happening at 7.30pm each night from Wednesday to Saturday, and there will also be matinees at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The show will include approximately 100 local children and teenagers, from fourth class in primary school up to sixth year in secondary school.

In addition, it features a cast of local actors who are no strangers to the stage, such as Richard Brown, Jorja Kilduff, Nicola O'Sullivan, Joe Steiner, Cian Mulhall, John McGlynn, Petrova Mulvey, Jonathan Kilduff, Hannah Dowling, Jamie O'Kane, Mike Keena, Joan Larkin, Edel Moriarty and Margaret Mulligan.

Managing it all is choreographer Claudia O'Sullivan and director Kori Kilduff. This is the eleventh Athlone panto which Kori has directed, after she previously took part in the annual shows under the directorship of Rufina Recks.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Kori said this would be her first show of any kind since the pandemic brought down the curtain on live entertainment two years ago.

"I normally would be in and around the stage every couple of weeks throughout the year, but this is my first one now since March 2020," said the drama and theatre teacher.

"It's a bit surreal, because obviously we have missed out on so much. We would have about 100 kids involved every year and it's something they would always look forward to, so it's brilliant to be back for them."

The Robin Hood panto was initially scheduled to take place over two weekends in January, but was postponed due to the high number of Covid-19 cases at that time.

"In January we decided not to go ahead with it, because the numbers were so high, but we're delighted to push on now, even though it's not the traditional panto season!

"When we made the decision to postpone it we were using that language, postponed, because at that point it was stage-ready. We were ready to go, and all we needed was a new slot again."

A synopsis of the panto says "Robin Hood and his Merry Men will have you in stitches from start to finish," during a production that is "packed full of wonderful music and dance, with a hilarious cast of larger-than-life characters."

With no panto having taken place last year, Kori said this week's show would be a perfect reintroduction to live entertainment for many people.

"It's a nice one to get people back into going out and enjoying the theatre again," she said.

"You can shout up at the stage, have a bit of craic, enjoy yourserself and forget about everything for a while!"

Dean Crowe Theatre manager Killian Collins said: "The entire cast and crew have worked extremely hard pouring their energy and creativity into this production for the last several months and now that magic – finally – will appear on our stage.

"We can't wait," he concluded.

Tickets for the panto are priced €14 (of €50 for a family) and bookings can be made through the theatre's website.