Panto takes a swipe at local TD and dad dancers light up stage!

This year’s panto at Mullingar Arts Centre opened last week and it maintains a long tradition of audience interaction and in-jokes. Beauty and the Beast is the show, and, as usual, Shane Bardon, was at the centre of the action – here as Belle’s mother Strudel Shortcake – supported by Jemma McNamee as his sidekick Minnie and a huge cast of local talent.

The show represents all that’s good about the panto in Mullingar, from the massive audience interaction and local jokes (one politician in particular is in the line of fire).

The whole cast are excellent, and there were lots of laughs for the dad dancing sequence. At least two of the four unfortunate lads who were dragged up to the stage on Saturday evening looked like they would rather have been at home on the farm. Strudel Shortcake wanted to know if they had the John Deere parked outside!

If you haven’t got tickets yet, you had better hurry. Shows continue till after Christmas, so get on to the arts centre as quickly as possible.