Moo....ve over! There’s a new Cork face on the panto scene

THIS might be Alison McCormack’s first time performing in a professional pantomime in Cork Opera House, but it is far from her first time experiencing the theatre’s behind-the-scenes excitement.

Her father, actor and director Kevin McCormack, performed in numerous pantomimes when Alison was a child. Both herself and her younger brother remember those times fondly, but they left a particularly lasting impression on the 26-year-old Kilworth native.

“I was enthralled by it, and I knew all the way through school that it was what I wanted to do.

“I remember one time in particular – it was my birthday, and I was having a party with all my friends in Monkey Maze in Glanmire. My dad came to join us in between shows and I begged him to take me back to the show with him. I left my own party! My friends didn’t mind; they were having a great time.”

Alison was given a prime position to the side of the stage.

“I would watch him from the wings. It was magic.”

She recalls another memory, again a birthday memory, but this time she wasn’t in the wings – she was right in the spotlight.

I remember Cillian Donnelly doing the song sheet, where they split the audience and get them to sing different parts. Well, prompted by dad of course, he picked me out, and everyone sang me happy birthday. I remember being so shocked. I was a shy child really. It was very special.

Proud of her creative father, she is equally excited for her debut.

“I am over the moon to be in this production,” she says, beaming.

A fitting remark too since she’s playing a cow in this year’s Jack And The Beanstalk production.

“I’m playing Patsy the cow; you typically wouldn’t have a speaking cow in the story. It is traditionally a prop sold for beans. She is advertised as an all-singing, all-dancing cow. A ‘Moosical’ star.

“I’m impressed with my costume. It’s really comfortable and the designers have done a great job – it comes with hooves and a tail and all.”

The Cork star has enjoyed the lead-up to the big performance. She has plenty of experience in amateur productions, but rehearsals for them tend to happen on evenings, stretched over a longer period. For a professional show like this one, rehearsals are concentrated and intense - working eight hours, six days a week, from 1pm until 8pm.

For three weeks before hitting the Opera House stage, for rehearsals, the cast were based at The Lough Community Centre.

It was really enjoyable, like we were all inside a little protected bubble.

The performer was impressed by how much work everyone got done in that time together.

“You create a whole show. It’s really something to see it coming together, all the different parts. It’s like a machine, really. I didn’t know anyone before we got started but we all get along so well.

“Some of the actors, like Michael who plays Rancid, and Frank who plays Nanny Nelli, are really experienced so that is great.”

Others, like Alison, have less experience in professional shows but all have a background in amateur work, theatre, and performance.

“I have been so impressed with how it has come together. There are six principals in the cast, and we work a lot with the director and stage manager, rehearsing scenes, blocking them, and running them. So, we are flying and then we go downstairs, where ensembles and intermediates and juniors are preparing. We come downstairs, and they’ll have done a whole number. The pace of it is extraordinary. You are all working together.

“Everyone is so supportive and encouraging and Betany the stage manager has an eye on all of it. It’s quite extraordinary.”

She’s careful not to give anything away.

“Honestly, there is something in this for everyone. My 7-year-old cousin is coming along with my 80-year-old grandmother. It goes back to the magic and the spectacle that is panto and no matter what age you are, you’ll be totally engrossed.

Just as her dad had plenty of support, including his young daughter, Alison will be heartily supported by her friends and family in Kilworth.

A lot of people will be travelling to see me. People are very supportive and proud.

When I mention people’s shortened attention span these days, Alison seems confident that the show will still hold the audience’s gaze.

“If anything, I think the screen culture has enhanced our work. We’re using TikTok now to advertise the show and it is very interactive, even more so than before. I’d even go so far as to say it is immersive. The fourth wall is taken down even more with this performance.”

I beg for details but Patsy the cow is remaining tight-lipped.

“It is such an interactive show. When you’re shouting “oh no you don’t” to a rehearsal space of one or two actors, it doesn’t have quite the same impact.”

She’s also excited for the future, which promises to be a bright one.

“I am open to all types of performances, but I suppose it’s safe to say that I have a soft spot for pantomime. There is something special about coming to work and having fun and then sharing that fun with thousands of people at Christmas.”

For more see https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/