By Noelle Smith
Oh yes she did! Lisa Keegan’s unorthodox yet hilarious version of a ‘happily ever after’ fairytale was a hit in DCU with sold out shows nearly every night.
Crappily Ever After tells the story of the beautiful but not very bright princess of Panto Land who is captured by an evil duke and forced to marry him. Luckily, her true love Prince Ralph crashes the wedding in the nick of time to save the day.
This original pantomime production was written by DCU Drama’s Lisa Keegan during a J1 in New York. She first thought of the idea on a 10 hour stopover in North Carolina.
Packed with great songs ranging from Disney’s Les Miserables to pop hits like Lady Gaga, the show was entertaining from start to finish.
The two hour production was packed with all sorts of panto craziness, from nuns on skateboards to sex gnomes hurling condoms in the faces of surprised spectators. No one was safe.
The night also featured guest appearances from DCU’s infamous Student Union trio. Ed Leamy played the king, Cillian Byrne played the ‘noble steed’, and Collie Ollie played himself.
The Crappily Ever After cast were in for a treat on their first night as they performed in front of the rowdy Toxic Tuesday crowd. The students that heckled the cast members throughout the show only added to the atmosphere.
The panto raised money for Bee for Battens, a charity which raises awareness of Battens Disease and supports those affected by it. The disease is an inherited and fatal disorder of the nervous system that usually manifests itself in childhood.
With a sold out show nearly every night, Lisa Keegan and director Tanis Tonge were thrilled with the money raised by perhaps the crudest and most comical panto that has ever been performed at the Venue.
DCU Drama has set the bar high for Little Shop of Horrors, the musical production which will run next April.
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