REVIEW: Gonzo’s comic take on fairytale is a hit with kids

Jenny McGovern

Nestled deep within the town of Cavan lays a deep dark forest. In this forest animals talk freely, sardonic foxes and sanctimonious owls share the land with a woodcutter and his family, his beloved children Hansel and Gretel, their evil stepmother and of course a cannibalistic witch.
Children are undoubtedly the harshest critics, if they don’t like something they’ll have no problem exclaiming it as loudly as they can. However this reviewer is pleased to report that the shrieks of delight from the dozen or so children in attendance at the Gonzo’s take on Hansel and Gretel spoke volumes.
Billed as a play for children and brave adults, in usual Gonzo style the fairytale has been adapted by Philip Doherty for the Cavan audience, with several clever one liners and the odd hint of dark humour. When Hansel is approached by a drunkard in the ‘Rotten Egg Market’, the Woodcutter quickly retorts that, that is what happens to children who fail to do their homework - to the audible cringe of the assembled children. Molly Heckard played the evil stepmother role to perfection, lambasting her downtrodden husband for his cheery attitude.
Both Hansel (Charlie McGuinness) and Gretel (Kim McCafferty) have mastered the childlike innocence of their characters - a couple of cartwheels from Gretel and some hilariously unsubtle farts from Hansel were enough for the children in the audience to accept them as one of their own. The woodcutter (Tommy Sharkey) is a loveable character who adores his children, often to the disgust their evil step mother.
Unexpected hilarity comes in the dialogue between the forest owls and the sneaky fox, and also from the droll outbursts of the witch’s cat Larissa (Molly Heckard) - this reviewer won’t spoil the surprise but the animal costumes are particularly fetching.
As the performance progressed a pantomime atmosphere emerged as the audience, and in particular the children, became more and more engrossed in the action. Hansel and Gretel called upon the children for their help in finding out who ate the precious breadcrumb trail - cue plenty of high pitched accusations and finger pointing towards the culprit.
At the appearance of the witch’s cottage, Hansel’s wide-eyed, hyperactive sprint across the forest towards the house adorned in sweets (and ‘Cavan Cola’ bottles) was particularly realistic.
Witches are of course scary characters, even more so when they have a taste for children and more so again when there are children sitting cross legged on the floor within arm’s reach of said witch. This reviewer wondered whether there would be a sudden deluge of frightened tears from the young crowd as the old crone creaked onto the stage. Alas the Celt was amused to find the children shouting and laughing at the evil witch. Tommy Sharkey plays the wicked old witch to perfection, his high falsetto voice screaming ‘Shuuuuuuuuuuuut up’ to the children was a delight - as was the image of globules of whipped cream dangling from his oversized nose.
The Gonzo crew (Mike McGovern, Noelle Slacke and Aimee O’Reilly) have transformed the Town Hall into a magical arena, trees line the forest walls, roughly chopped, mossy logs provide seating for the cast, a long winding path belies a cleverly disguised ramp which allows easy access from the house on stage to the forest floor and strewn along the outskirts of the forest were pillows and blankets, the best seats in the house - reserved especially for children.
Music and movement are vital in this production, a fact cemented from the opening scene - a wonderful ode to chopping wood. Shane O’Connor provided the musical sound effects throughout, while Kim McCafferty displays her acrobatic talent, with plenty of twirls, spins and cartwheels throughout the hour long performance.

A must see, feel good family fairytale by the Gonzo theatre company. A perfect pre-Christmas treat. Show times Friday, December 13 at 7.30pm. Saturday,December 14 and Sunday, December 15 matinee at 3pm and evening show 7.30pm. Tickets: Adults €10 Children €7 and are available by calling 085 1030 569 and are also on the door.