Writer & Director: Geoff O’Keeffe
A mesmerising family show, Hansel and Gretel at the Mill Theatre is everything you want a pantomime to be. It had jokes, audience participation, singing, dancing and the use of completely out of context popular songs. It’s a true delight beginning to end. Beginning with a fun duet between the two ‘bad guys’, Witch (Eimear Barr) and Stepmother (Gerry Mountaine) the show runs so smoothly and cleanly for its entire duration. The show is only 1 hour long, there is nothing overly loud, stunning or scary making it the perfect show for the full range of ages.
Mountaine is every bit the panto Dame, with charm and just the right amount of audience banter. Hansel, played by David O’ Donovan and Gretel played by Dirin Britt Lennon, were the perfect amount of cheese for a panto without overdoing it. There was beautiful puppetry and voice acting by Niamh Ella McCann and Riain Cash. The stand out performance of the show came from Barr. Her portrayal of The Witch looked effortless, add to that a very pleasing singing voice and it made her enchanting to watch.
Set design by Ronán Duffy was kept relatively simple which allowed for some easy and seamless changes of scenery. The story is easy to follow and clear throughout, with frequent reminders for younger audience members about the motivations for each character. There are also fun, popular songs that children and adults in the audience would be familiar with. A couple of them garnered excited utterances from the auditorium as their intros played. Hansel and Gretel is the perfect show for the whole family.
Review from Zoe (Age 3.5):
I really liked the panto. The Witch was very funny. I want her hat. They sang Pink Pony Club. That was my favourite part. I want to come back here tomorrow and hear them sing again. Maybe I can sing with them too.
Reviewed 4th Jan 2026.
