A magical bridge to the world of drama

REVIEW

Grace O'Leary

As part of this year’s Drumlinia Festival 2024, the kids got a chance to see the art and drama that goes on in Cavan. Last Wednesday (October 23), they got to watch ‘Rebecca and the Magical Bridge’ being performed live in the Town Hall. And to call it amazing is an understatement! I had high hopes for this show, and it took me on an exciting journey back to my childhood.

The play begins with Rebecca Sanchez who sings and plays a ukelele before greeting the audience and telling them about her story.

Rebecca was told a very special secret by her grandmother; if she went to the magic bridge when the moon was full and called out the name of the person she most wanted to meet, then by magic that person would appear.

We meet lots of Disney characters along the way, and they tell us about their dreams and wishes. But not all that glitters is gold! We meet some bad characters who are hoping to destroy the desires of the others. Can our Disney heroes stop the villains from taking away their dreams?

The play’s producer and writer Don Mescall introduced the show with a warm and welcoming smile to all the children there. Radio presenter Lottie Ryan from 2FM hosted a special auditory introduction to the play; narrating the storyline even further.

Rebecca Sanchez’s performance was unforgettable to say the least. Sanchez’s ability to propel her voice and convey multiple facial expressions made the experience more amusing to the audience.

She furthermore brings her Spanish culture to the floor through flamenco dancing and using castanets to enhance the music.

The dancer and singer grew up in the Spanish city of Seville, but has been living in Ireland since 2015. Since then, she has performed on multiple stages, and her biggest achievement yet is performing with the national symphony orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Dublin in February of last year.

Later on in the show, Katie Lennon takes on the popular Frozen character, Elsa. The young singer and actor did not disappoint with her theatric skills when she brought many Disney characters to to life on the Town Hall stage.

The outstanding level of singing really helped the children to believe that their favourite Disney characters were there.

Together, the actors worked perfectly in sync with each other. Their chemistry really shone on the stage and helped the show to maintain a professional standard. The actors demonstrated their versatility and skill by playing multiple roles without catching the children off guard.

The show was most interactive, with the children being encouraged to answer questions from the characters and asked to sing along.

The staging and lighting really added to the production, making it truly memorable for the children.

The hard work behind the scenes was certainly not forgotten. Props such as bubbles, smoke, a magic bridge, Aladdin’s lamp and Cinderella’s broom elicited plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd. The costumes were creatively designed in colour and style.

The show did contain quite a lot of songs, some of which caused the younger children to become a little bored or disinterested at times.

However, there was a helpful intermission halfway to let them stretch their legs or eat some lunch.

Overall, laughter and enthusiasm had emerged from the seats of the audience. Most children behaved, some sang along, but all were delighted to be a part of the adventure.