Anna Burnside reviews a disappointing outing at this week’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint.
Having successfully created a new panto season to cover PPP’s summer break, the brand is being extended once again. This Halloweenish production is an autumn panto by another name and stretches the concept so thin it snaps.
Madame Ann-Marie Bain-Marie is a rubbish medium, peddling her mendacious show round the lowest reaches of the club circuit. Helping her out is son Connor, resplendent in a grubby Victorian ghost costume over his tracky bottoms.
Together they cook up a scheme to win £1m from a paranormal podcast by proving that the supernatural exists. Naturally, this goes very wrong indeed.
Many familiar panto tropes are present and correct - comedy names, geographical references, a Taylor Swift strand including a pink cowboy hat plus many mentions of Caramel Wafers and one of Irn-Bru. Even the set reeks of the Pavilion in December.
No songs or fart gags though. Small mercies and all that.
There are some strong performances. Afton Moran bends and wiggles into the role of Connor like one of those giant inflatables that flip-flop outside shopping malls. But that one visual joke gets old pretty quickly.
A poor script and blunt instrument directing make Esme Bayely as podcast presenter Molly and Julie Coombe as the useless medium less impressive.
For a show that’s meant to be seasonal, spooky fun, this was a pretty joyless 60 minutes.
Ghost Off! is performing at Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint until November 2, 2024.
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
RSS