Pic: Panto genius: Nicola Roy as So-Shy andGerard Kelly as Wishee Washee
For twenty years, now, Gerard Kelly has been the mainstay of the big full-dress pantomime in Glasgow, following in the footsteps of greats such as Stanley Baxter and Rikki Fulton. Despite stints in Brookside and a brilliant cameo in Ricky Gervais’ Extras, few outside the business would be able to pick Kelly out. But to Glaswegians, in midwinter, with his spiky black wig, and his big boots, he is an absolute legend.
His opening cry of “Hiya pals” , whatever the show, is now so familiar that other theatres around Scotland parody it. There are routines which come back year after year, as reliable a seasonal indicator as any swallow in summer. But somehow Kelly manages both to persuade us all that he has just made it all up while at the same time tipping us the wink that he knows that we know that he knows we know.
If he is on form - and an off night is as rare as a quiet night is in nearby Sauchiehall Street - you really do feel the grand old theatre jump for joy. And with Karen Dunbar now firmly established as a replacement for Elaine C. Smith, this year as a flirtatious, not to say glamorous, Widow Twanky , this is a partnership which may run for some years yet.
There are some new faces, too, this year. Gavin Mitchell makes an imperious Abanazar, relishing his power more than his badness which actually makes him much more threatening. And Nicola Roy, making her stage debut (although she has done fair bit of TV) very nearly steals the show as the garrulous So Shy, motor-mouth friend to the princess and love interest to Kelly’s Wishee Washee.
It doesn’t hurt that veteran panto guru Terry Parsons has produced a handsome new collection of sets and costumes. But at the same time there is a nod to the past as Kelly revives a routine belonging to Jack Milroy about the consequences of an overly spicy curry, an experience which many in the city that gave the world chicken tikka masala will recognise. No 3D effects, no product placement, no nonsense, just the best fun.
Aladdin, King’s Theatre, Glasgow. Until January 17th: 0844 871 7648
