Pony Panto 2012 – The Mac

“ponydance will now unleash their time honoured and much loved, irreverent approach to everybody’s favourite season…well not everybody’s, but spend a night with the ponies and you’ll remember why Christmas can be so much fun.” – The Mac, Belfast

Running from 11th – 16th December ‘pony panto‘ was a Pantomime unlike any other. Other than the slightly odd and hilarious picture seen above (and the promise of a comedy dance troupe, there was little else to indicate what was in store for us at pony panto last weekend).

Pony panto was performed in the smaller of the two theatres, at The Mac, giving a much more intimate feel to the night. Although depending on your constitution, this intimate setting can only mean one thing in a show which relies partly on audience participation for its entertainment – you are almost certainly going to make a fool of yourself at one point.

This pantomime for adults was quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, it was a dance show with attitude, a comedy show which wasn’t afraid to call you out and tell you off. The members of ‘ponydance‘: Deirdre Griffin, Neil Hainsworth, Leonie McDonagh, Paula O’Reilly, Duane Watters and guest pony Eileen McClory had the audience in tears (there were even a few snorts and a couple of cocktails spat everywhere) within five minutes of the show beginning. From genuinely talented and well choreographed dance routines, to a sullen tap dancer in a ridiculously oversized snowflake costume, pony panto was the perfect mix of comedy and dance routines, sure to have you in stitches. Our host for the evening Leonie Pony’s sharp wit and dry sense of humour was second to none.

A guest appearance by PaperDolls provided a slightly eerie element to the night with their very impressive aerial acrobatics, accompanied by the strange and exotic sounds created by Margie Lewis on the zither.

My personal favourite part of the night was the airing of (fake) new celebrity Sinnead’s new Christmas video complete with tracksuits, vaseline covered lenses and and all the cheesy Christmas cheer you can handle, followed by her very Irish rendition of The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping. To be perfectly honest I haven’t been able to get her chorus of “Meddy Chrissmas, Meddy Chrissmas” out of my head ever since.

Overall, pony panto was one of the funniest nights out I’ve had in a long, long time and the fact that this was a local theatre group with local performers and musicians made it even better. Most of the music for the show was provided by local band Shake!, and there were guest appearances by Ajendance and drag queen Victoria Secret too. There was even a dance off between two audience members dressed as Jesus and Santa to find the true creator of Christmas. Pretty much everything you’d want from a night out.

For those who haven’t been to a pony show before, I urge you to give it a go. Whether you’re a lover or hater of comedy or a lover or hater of dance, ponydance will have something to both amuse and astound you regardless.