Last night my sister and I went to the show that the Princess’s school put on to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The Princess was a munchkin with one line in the “Wizard of Oz” but she delivered it with great panache (Féach ar na daoine sin. Tá siad an ait). As my sister said when the first child opened her mouth (Dorothy): “Oh God, it’s not in Irish is it?” It was in Irish and the overall effect was a little odd.
When Dorothy was told “NÃl tú i Kansas anois, a Dorothy”, my sister hissed at me “In more ways than one, Dorothy”. As well as doing the “Wizard of Oz”, there were little cameos by the teachers (seeing the múinteoirà doing a scene from “Sister Act” was memorable), parents and past-pupils – all very appealing. The big show of the night was “Oliver” by the senior school (9-12). They took some considerable liberty with the story and, as far as I’m aware, “The Sun will Come out Tomorrow” is not a song from the musical Oliver, however, who am I to quibble? A past pupil, now 25, was a suitably intimidating Bill Sykes and, to my untrained ear, pulled off a reasonable cockney accent leading to unlikely phrases such as “Cá bhfuil sé, the little blighter?”
What can one say only – an ait ar fad but surprisingly enjoyable for a school production.
Is that Dorothy O’Toole with the red slippers?