Olympia Theatre, Dublin
Even before people had entered the Olympia theatre, the screaming had begun. At the side of the building, a sizeable crowd of young girls gathered beneath a dressing-room window and gave a shrill gasp everytime John or Edward Grimes gave them a wave. It was opening night of Jedward and the Beanstalkat the Olympia, and this was never going to be a tough crowd.
Jedward are held in reserve for about 25 minutes, as the rest of the cast is brought out. Jack (Ryan Andrews) and Ma Grimm (a sharp Alan Kavanagh) are too poor to pay rent or buy a ring for Jack’s love Jill (Clare O’Malley). They need Jack’s brothers, who the good wizard Louis has whisked off to England to make their fortune (“and take 15 per cent”).
Working for the giant at the top of the beanstalk is Linda Martin’s Mrs GaGa, while the villain of the piece is David Doyle’s Baron Ichibold Meany Fartypants. Or IMF, as he is known.
Fiona Looney’s script is particularly heavy on such topical gags, with so many political and showbiz scandals joked about that it’s something of a relief when Jedward come on stage on Segways and everyone can just get on with the reason why they’ve all come.
From there on in, it's all about Jedward. They dance in their energetic, appealingly inexpert way, deliver their lines with a certain looseness, shout a few spontaneous lines when they shouldn't, wave at the audience, and sing Lipstickuntil it's the only thing your brain has room for. They're not given topical jokes about the IMF.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of this panto depends largely on your enjoyment of all things Jedward. The final 10 minutes replaces panto with a mini-gig, a nice trick to get the appreciative audience on its feet before the curtain call. There are more traditional pantos out there. There may be better-produced pantos out there. But there is only one panto with Jedward in it. And that’s your chief consideration before going along.
runs until January 8th
