Patrick McKenna played the Dame in Peter Pan. Photo / Dee Brough
Patrick McKenna played the Dame in Peter Pan. Photo / Dee Brough
Our play reading group read a pantomime written by local bookshop owner Patrick McKenna last week.
Patrick's becoming quite well known locally as an actor and musician and now he's turned his talents to writing.
Patrick amused us all with his portrayal of Digby Gorrah the local grave digger inour last production, Shenanigan's Wake, and kept us smiling when he played the dame, Katie Pie, in our 2020 pantomime Peter Pan.
It was during rehearsals for Peter Pan when we were discussing the high costs of royalties for putting on other people's work that the idea of writing our own scripts came up.
The result of that chat was Patrick's pantomime Sad Blisters, centring on the two Ugly Stepsisters 15 years after Cinderella's wedding to the prince. Now Cinderella is in her 30s, mother to two children who love their kindly aunts who were never ugly or nasty, just easily led by their controlling mother.
Patrick stressed that what he'd written was a 'work in progress' and invited the group to make suggestions as to how it could be improved.
He's got some songs he's going to add into the script and with the magic of theatre it will spring into life, the villain will be defeated and all will live happily ever after.
