Reviewed: Doyle/Erdei, Aladdin and The Secret Garden

Doyle/Erdei

Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Dublin

James Wilson - Sonatina

Raymond Deane - Epilogue

Benjamin Dwyer - Apuntes

John Buckley - Boireann

Flautist Susan Doyle and pianist Márta Erdei continued the Bank of Ireland's Mostly Modern series with a zealous presentation of works by four established Irish composers.

Though not specifically intended as a memorial concert, it was in many ways a tribute to the influence of the late James Wilson, whose Sonatina of 1973 made for an engaging opening to the programme.

Decorative rather than developmental, its first two movements successfully combine sophistication and accessibility. Only in the casual finale does Wilson's interest in the unusual combination of piano and alto flute seem to have flagged.

Also from 1973, but deploying regular flute with piano, Raymond Deane's Epilogue represented a more rigorous strain of abstract modernism. Its insistent forboding seemed all the weightier in the wake of Wilson's lightly persuasive episodes.

In Apuntes, written a few years ago when he was roughing it in Spain, guitarist-composer Benjamin Dwyer explores the possibilities of the piano rather like a bull exploring the possibilities of a china shop.

Apart from occasional melodic and cadential references, there were few detractions from the prevailingly percussive style, which Erdei delivered with impressive energy and commitment.

She was rejoined by Doyle for a fittingly concentrated performance of Boireann by John Buckley, whose introductory words promised a mixture of craggy and lyrical impressionism. Yet it was the cragginess that dominated: with angular piano writing, and flute cadenzas resembling transcribed birdsong, this was music that kept a firm grip on its own expressionist rhetoric. - Andrew Johnstone

Aladdin

Gaiety

A good measure of the success of any panto has to be the number of times the children in the audience are on the edge of their seats booing the baddie, singsonging "oh no, he's not" or just generally shreiking in delight. On the strength of the first night performance by the little ones in the audience, this year's Gaiety panto, Aladdin, is a hit.

The classic story of the poor young man and his luck with a golden lamp doesn't lend itself to quite as many plot diversions as other panto favourites such as Cinderella or Puss in Boots and director Carole Todd keeps the story simple. Poor Aladdin, played by Fair City's George "Mondo" McMahon discovers a genie lamp which brings riches to his poor washerwoman mother and helps him win the hand of a princess. There's a baddie of course played large and with obvious relish and superb timing by Michael Grennell and a funny, charming genie, Michelle Doherty, who lights up the stage every time she appears.

The best bits, and the ones the audience really loved, were the classic panto gags - a hilarious slapstick scene involving a conveyor belt and Aladdin's mum's best china and a one featuring a misunderstanding about the address of the Who, Wot and Dunno families that's as old as the hills but all the better for it. Both these scenes feature the real stars of the show, Gavin Armstrong as Window Twanky and Karl Harpur as Elvis O'Toole, Aladin's side kick. When these two were on stage together, the pace picked up, the laughs piled on and the audience got to see a real bit of traditional panto business. It's a pity there wasn't more of that sort of slapstick - and less of the variety show, song and dance routines, particularly in the first half.

For the most part, the script by Martin Higgins steered clear of any topical or political references - impossible, for example, to imagine Maureen Potter passing up the chance to slip in a joke about a transport minister's resignation in a show that featured a magic carpet. A pity too to include so many pop songs without rewriting them even a little bit for comic effect. George McMahon made a rather unlikely leading man but maybe it was the unfortunate costumes he had to wear. Welcome new faces onto the Irish scene included Joanna Ampil as the Princess, who wasn't given nearly enough to do, and Masashi Fujimoto who made hilarious work of role of the Emperor. The costumes and sets were properly fabulous, the dancers a whirlwind of energy, the music - barring the tedious pop song interludes - fun and engaging and the Billie Barry Kids an all-singing, all-dancing treat. A good, seasonal night's entertainment.

Runs until February 5th - Bernice Harrison

The Secret Garden

The Helix

It's a brave and ambitious undertaking to mount a stage version of a classic children's tale at Christmas time which has no relevance to the festive season. Even more so when it's Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden - a story that has - either through the original novel (first published in 1888) or through one of the film adaptations - touched the hearts and souls of children in a way they often can't even describe. Well, you may all rest assured, Landmark Productions has dramatised this much-loved tale with both style and sensitivity and there's not a reindeer in sight.

One of the most extraordinary and praiseworthy aspects of this production, directed by Michale Caven, is that it doesn't pander to the modern obsession with excess. The two-hour show unfolds gently, relying on children's ability to concentrate and their innate desire to be captivated by human emotions.

And so they are captivated - from six years and upwards, they sit silently watching how the selfish orphaned girl, Mary Lennox - who has been sent from India to live in her uncle's manor house on the Yorkshire Moors - begins to explore the large lonely house and the beautiful formal gardens (a convincingly simple set, designed by Monica Frawley) which surround it.

We - children and adults alike - witness the redemptive powers of the natural world and friendship when we see how Mary Lennox (an appropriately restrained and competent performance by Ailish Symons) is transformed from a child full of hate to one filled with joy and wonder upon finding the secret garden and meeting local Yorkshire lad, Dickon (a slightly less competent Keith Burke).

This theme is further developed when Mary's sickly house-ridden cousin, Colin Craven (adeptly played by Ciaran Fitzgerald) is also transformed into a lively, happy child through his experiences in the secret garden with his new found friends.

The main characters are supported by some of Ireland's most acclaimed actors - Declan Conlon as Mr Craven, Susan Fitzgerald as Mrs Medlock, the housekeeper, and Bosco Hogan as Ben Weatherstaff, the gardener.

These actors bring an adult worldliness or world weariness to the story that emphasises the absolute value of childhood exuberance. Three dancers - Lucy Dundon, Katherine O'Malley and Justine Doswell - also add an exquisite dimension to the show as they become statues in the garden, animals on the Yorkshire Moors or ghosts of Miselthwaite Manor.

The show ends with a kind of dance of life in which all the cast emit a warmth and readiness to enjoy this beautiful garden in all its fullness.

The audience loved every minute of it - proof if ever it was needed that you simply can't beat the classics when they are sincerely and respectfully told.

Runs until January 8th - Sylvia Thompson