A GLEEKMAS CAROL

       In the week before Christmas, 2011, Waterford audiences were invited to Mount Sion Hall, Barrack street, to see a new version of Dicken's ‘A Christmas Carol’. It was performed by the 12-19 years age group and included members of the youth dance and youth theatre. It was funny and also fairly true to life with plenty of inside jokes about youth theatre and the local musical and theatre business. There was also a few digs at the 'typical' members of a youth theatre, nobody escaped and even the parents in the audience found themselves laughing at versions of themselves on stage. The show was presented in an ensemble style with all of the 22 actors playing multiple roles - apart from MR. S (Dean Kavanagh), Jemmy (Shane O'Sullivan) and the narrator of the story, the cleaner Mary (Nikki Moran).

     In this new version of the Dickens story, we followed a grumpy old youth theatre director called Mr. S, who refused to have songs and dance in his youth theatre company ("We are the only youth theatre in the world who don't do musicals"). All this changed when he was visited by his old youth theatre partner Jemmy and the three ghosts of Past (Caoimhe O'Brien), Present (Abby Hennebry) and Future (Isabel O'Neill). The show was very much set in Waterford with plenty of local references, from the old Tops of the Town shows by Raytex to hanging around outside the Book Centre.

    This new play was a homage to the Glee TV show phenomenon and hence the title ‘A Gleekmas Carol’. There were some very good songs (led and played by guitarist Dean Croke O'Sullivan), and well done to the choral director Joanne Corcoran, in particular the selection of Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were Here'. Also the movement was very good, with choreography by Trish Murphy, and I liked the version of 'Mr. Bojangles'. 'A Gleekmas Carol' was well acted by all the cast and there was great concentration and also a sense of playfulness from all the cast. Written and directed by Ollie Breslin, and assisted by Dean O'Sullivan, it was good fun for all the family.

   Almost €500 was raised through the collection after the shows and this will be divided between the three selected charities: St. Vincent De Paul (Waterford), Barretstown Kids Camp and Barnardos (Ireland).

PHOTOS BY PADDY DWAN