Longford audiences are wowed by gender-reverse panto

The Backstage Youth Theatre's 2024 panto took the familiar story of Sherwood Forest and gave it a modern gender-reverse makeover.
Backstage Youth Theatre are 100% volunteer run and are known for their unique spin on traditional tales. This year's production was no different.

Written by local drama maestro, Brendan Williams, this pantomime is female centred with a really positive message of friendship and feminism throughout.
It focuses on Robyn Hood rather than Robin, and her Fabulous Females rather than the Merry Men. They ensemble are trying to protect their forest from an evil developer and run from the local sheriff. The writing was incredibly witty and expertly delivered by the entire cast. Every line and movement was well executed.

Fionn Fitzgerald was a shining star in this year’s production with his character Token Guy who acted as a narrator between scenes. His stage presence and ability to go back and forth with the audience really took the panto to the next level.
The choice to have a narrator type character to bring the story along and keep the audience engaged was different but it worked well. Will Keane in the character of Marius, Robyn’s love interest was another great comic relief with great execution of lines through body language.

Ellie Flynn O’Regan, Aileen Gordan, Leo Doherty and Shauna Manning did an impressive job as the Fabulous Females bringing each individual character to life without merging into one character which can be easy to fall into acting in such a close-knit group.
The four worked really well together on stage and bounced off each other’s energy to bring the scenes alive. Their leading lady Alex Adejinmi as Robyn Hood was perfect casting. She hit the nail on the head when portraying the confident and self-sufficient lead.
Every panto needs a villain, or in this case two. The Sheriff played by Noah Shannon and Deputy Merriman played by Alice Farrell served as the first half villains. Noah Shannon was fantastic in the portrayal of his character as The Sheriff attempted to capture Robyn Hood.

In a panto plot twist a second villain appeared just before the interval in the form of The Developer, Aodhan Reid, and his foreman played by Mikolaj Nastaga. The storyline saw The Developer attempt to turn Sherwood Forest into a building site forcing Robyn Hood and The Sheriff to work together to save the land.
The switch of villains halfway through was very refreshing and ensured the story line was not dragged out. It was also a treat having Aodhan Reid introduced to the stage as he gave a stellar performance as the second half villain.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the production from Backstage Youth Theatre this year. I will admit there was a little less music and a little less set changes than I expected. However, this was not missed as I was blown away by the comedic timing, character work and impressive acting from such a young cast, with the ages of the youth group members ranging from 13-17.
It’s also a huge credit to the cast to perform such an enjoyable show when it’s set in only two locations. Equally impressive was the backstage work; lights, makeup, crew, stage manager and sound. All those jobs were taken on by members of the youth group.

The youth group really came together to wow audiences with Robyn Hood and her Fabulous Females this year. The Backstage Youth Theatre annual pantomime was staged at Backstage Theatre from January 19 to January 27.