Excited crowds enjoy opening night of UCH Panto, Mother Goose (oh yes they did!)

UNIVERSITY Concert Hall (UCH) Limerick's Christmas panto, Mother Goose, held its opening night last Thursday and there was huge excitement among the cast and young children in attendance.

The star-studded cast includes dynamic duo Myles Breen and Richie Hayes as Mother Goose and Gussie Goose, respectively, and John Sharpson as The Mayor. Evan O'Hanlon and Ester Brady will be reprising their roles as the prince and princess characters of the panto as Jack and Jill.

New to the UCH Limerick Panto this year are Faye Shortt as the Fairy Godmother, and Keith Hanley as the 'baddie,' Demon Vanity. Joining the cast on stage will be the uber-talented children's chorus, dancers, and of course, the Goose itself.

Speaking at the opening night of the twelfth annual panto, Director at UCH, Sinead Hope, said they'd held six shows for local schools ahead of opening night. "There's 46 shows in total coming so there's a lot of excitement in the air. The cast are really looking forward to it."

"There's lots of dance numbers and all the kiddies remembering some of the hot kind of songs of the season, musical theatre numbers and some of the hits from the last year so there's obviously lots of humour and fun and jokes so there's really everything for the smallies to the adults."

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Faye Shortt aka Fairy Tik-Tok said people can expect "so much energy" from the cast along with incredible costumes, music, dance and everything you could want from a panto.

Myles Breen who plays the titular, Mother Goose, commented: 

"We had a fabulous opening night... The whole cast and crew and everyone had an absolute ball tonight.

"There's matinees and evening shows and also we've a very special relaxed performance which is very good for some very small kids. The lights are not as flashy and the sounds are not as loud and also we have a sign language interpreter."

We also spoke to some of the children heading to see the Panto dressed up in their finest Christmas clothes.

Performances will run from Thursday, December 19 to Sunday, January 12. Tickets are on sale here.