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Aganeza Scrooge is the perfect panto defrost for even the coldest of humbug hearts, audiences can’t help but be captured by the charm of this hilarious festive tale.
Glasgow’s Tron Theatre is never afraid to be bold when it comes to the annual panto – and this year is no different.
This gender-bending take on the Dickens classic is a Christmas Carol that sings with all its heart.
This tale of greed and poverty, health inequality and selfishness is one for our time, as the rich get richer while those struggling to get by watch their bills soar.
Johnny McKnight’s politically-charged script swipes at everyone from Scotland’s Culture Secretary to Tory Peer Baroness Mone. Nobody is safe.
It was the boards of the Tron where Elaine C Smith really made her mark on pantomime, blazing the trail for women in a battle from the trenches of the submersive that still rages on today.
Taking on those reigns in the titular role of the Kardashian-shaped Aganeza, Louise McCarthy absolutely dazzles in a bejewelled blaze that would make Taylor Swift blush.
Terrorising the residents of Dickensian Street – which happens to squeeze itself in the alley beside McDonald’s the bakers, sniffing distance from the Tron itself – is this baddie’s game. And she is bloody good at it.
How can this baddie be so good? It’s down to the irresistible charm of McCarthy, who anchors the production as part-protagonist, part-standup and part-observer.
The patter just never stops in this laugh-a-minute gas whipped up by her glorious rapport with her audience.
McCarthy is no stranger to panto – indeed, her turn with The Dolls at the SEC Armadillo was a sheer delight – but this year feel like a real watershed moment for her in Scotland’s pantosphere.
Proving that great things can indeed come in tiny packages, this tiny cast of six bring this story to life with an energy to rival a troupe three times their size.
Kyle Gardiner’s Tiny Tim gets a bucketload of unexpected laughs given he is a wee boy who is slowly dying and Julie Wilson Nimmo’s take on panto past really does have to be seen to be believed!
Star Penders expressions need a stage of their own and Jamie Marie Leary completes this perfect portfolio in a multi-character whirlwind.
While a little self-indulgent in places, overall this take on Dickens breathes new life into dusty old tales.
Moved along at speed with an array of brilliant original music by Ross Brown, the curtain comes down in the traditional McKnight way – with a blast of Mariah.
How else would you see out the festive season?
Aganeza Scrooge at Tron Theatre, Glasgow until Sunday 7th January 2024
