“THERE are two ways you can play the Fairy Godmother in ‘Cinderella’,” Adele King (Twink) says in her direct fashion. “You cast a ballerina in the role, put a nice dress on her and give her lines like ‘And you shall go to the ball, Cinderella!’ and she’s a tokenistic fairy godmother”. Bah, humbug. Or you can cast a character like Ms King, who is L.O.L all the ways – laugh out loud funny, and lots of love – to talk with. “I play her as a Mary Poppins/ Nanny McPhee sort of figure who gives the Ugly Sisters a good come-uppance.
I’m called Nanny Twinkerbell and try to see that Cinderella gets as little grief as possible from that pair. I write my gags for the show and I’ll be rewriting them again the night before the panto to keep them current. I keep reminding the kids in the audience that as Fairy Godmother I have the power to change costume and walk on stage first as Lady Gaga, but make that Lady Aga”.
She’s thrilled with “the absolute A-list” of stage star and production team in this UCH venture with Robert C. Kelly. She also has terrific licence over the script, having writtten a Gaiety ‘Cinderella’ before for Kelly. Karl Harpur directs this freefall and Belinda Power choreographers.
“I love this pantomime. It is such a moral story for kids and there’s not a lot of those out there. And panto introduces kids to theatre. Fairy Godmother finds Cinderella (Leanne Moore) first cast out in the forest, but sewing the seeds of her salvation with her kind acts and beauty”.
Adele is heartfelt in her delight that this production has partnered Limerick’s refuge for women experiencing abuse, and their children, ADAPT Domestic Abuse Services as its charity: “To me, in all the years that I have done panto, of all the connectivities, ADAPT is the A+, top of the bus choice”.
As well as running a raffle and information stand, the concert hall is giving 50 tickets to the charity for its families over the Christmas. “To me, when you are at mercy of and the butt of someone, coming to panto is one of the ways to introduce light and joy to your life”.
This real life Fairy Godmother tells of how she used to quietly block-book and pay for seats for underpriviledged children in Dublin over years and “one of those children was from the criminal underbelly of the city. Today he has a top public service job and he wrote to me, saying that it was I, treating him to panto at Christmas for three years, that made him determined to get out of the ghetto. This man is now a top dog in a public, professional environment”.
Adele King has another strength too, that of writer whose book ‘Twink Unzipped’ went straight into best seller list at No. 2. And in annual interviews with Arts page over yonks, she has consistently put it out there (“I annoy the lights out of other towns when I say this”) that Limerick is her favourite place in the world in which to work.
Go see her light in action until January 6, twice daily at the concert hall, 2pm and 7pm; www.uch.ie.
