Review: MUMBELINA, Òran Mór

This year's summer pantomime at the Oran Mor is Mumbelina, written by Johnny McKnight and directed by Darren Brownlie. Mumbelina is taking over from the Spring/Summer season of A Play, A Pie and A Pint so the ticket includes a drink and a scotch pie/vegan sausage roll. 

Ina D. Pepe (Joyce Falconer) is sick of being underappreciated by her ungrateful children. Cue Froggie Mercury (George Drennan) a rocking amphibian with the power to make wishes come true. He shrinks Ina to smaller than a matchbox offering her a simpler life. However, her new companions, Glamingo Starr (Chloe Hodgson) and Moley Parton (Gail Watson) try to convince her that not everything is as great as it seems in this new world. 

Original music comes from Novasound and works brilliantly in the show. All the classic elements of panto are here and the production being for adults only makes the audience interaction all the more fun. It's a joy to see so many people get properly into singing along and doing actions. While it's adults-only, it's not one of the vulgar ones. There's a bit of swearing and innuendo but it's absolutely safe for your granny. 

Some of the jokes are a bit cheesy, even for panto but the cast deliver them well. It's a talented bunch that particularly shine during the musical numbers. 

Mumbelina is only an hour long and that feels like just the right amount of time to tell this story with added songs and gags. While it's not groundbreaking, there's a lot of fun to be had in this enjoyable show and it's a nice change to have a pantomime in the summer.

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