We’re extremely pleased to hear how well John is feeling and looking forwards to seeing him fighting fit at this year’s panto. John Linehan, 71, is the person who knows her better than most and the story of how May became May is one of happenstance. Can Belle see beyond the monster and fall in love with her captor before the last petal falls from the enchanted rose? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is directed and choreographed by Jonny Bowles who won Best Choreography for the Theatre’s production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the 2022 Pantomime Awards, and lighting design is by Graham McLusky who was nominated for Best Lighting Design at The Great British Pantomime Awards in 2018.

The 68-year-old entertainer and actor from north Belfast is a familiar sight in Northern Ireland's panto scene where he performs as hilarious alter ego May McFettridge. The Grand Opera House pantomime is staged by Olivier award-winning producer Michael Harrison on behalf of Crossroads Pantomimes, the biggest pantomime producer in the world. Cinderella could be looking for her lost slipper, and May might stumble onto the scene to tell an audience member they'd a face like a slapped arse. And from now until January 15, children and adults alike can expect laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery and beautiful costumes as May stars as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella – clocking up a record-breaking 32 Grand Opera House pantomime seasons. Noted for his charity work and for his real, genuine love for how audiences - particularly kids - react to pantomime.Mayhem (1995) | In Mayhem John Linehan’s famous alter-ego, May McFettridge, entertains a live UTV Northern Ireland studio audience (1995). The tour had opened on 20 January at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Jimmy’s birth place though he has lived in Rochdale for many years with his wife May Mulgrew. I don't smoke, I did when I was a young lad in my 20s and then I would have had a wee puff, but I was never a heavy smoker at all. When asked about the turnaround between A Happy Medium wrapping, and the start of rehearsals for Snow White, John shared a notable admission. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

He’s English, but he can do the auld Belfast accent great, because of his granny living in East Belfast. A Happy Medium will tour across Northern Ireland with performances starting in the Grand Opera House, and plans for it to show in the Millennium Forum Theatre in Londonderry and Theatre at the Mill, Mossley. The night before the performance, he went with John Linehan, aka May McFettridge, to look at the mural (above) on the Donegall Road. It’s been a long time coming, but tonight’s the night for Falke to get his revenge at the most glamorous party of the season where there’ll be champagne.

Recognised as one of the greatest character acts to emerge from Northern Ireland, May’s unique ability to involve audience members in her shows have made her one of the most popular and best loved comic performers in the country. Sounds like he's been reading a lot of the management books; not so says he; I just want to keep doing what I love doing.

There will be a relaxed performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on 09 January 2024, attendees can view a visual Social Story here. Stunning scenery, lighting, breathtaking choreography and jaw-dropping costumes, especially during a winter wonderland scene, added to the magic of this fairytale story of good defeating evil. Deep in rehearsals for his role as the psychic Belfast woman, it’s only been a matter of weeks since John kicked off May’s heels after treading the boards in her latest role as the Fairy Godmother in Grand Opera House in Cinderella in January.May McFettridge is, without doubt, part of the Christmas furniture at the Grand Opera House, and from now until January 14, children and adults alike can expect laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery and beautiful costumes as May stars as May of the Mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – clocking up a record-breaking 33 Grand Opera House pantomime seasons. San Francisco Bay Area indie-pop ensemble The Umbrellas unveils their second album, Fairweather Friend, hot on the heels of its self-titled debut in 2021. A bronze bust of the buxom Belfast backstreet bombshell takes pride of place in the Grand Opera House. That made me wonder; why don't we look at what we do everyday in our working lives and seek to understand our hidden talents. Thanks again to John Linehan (and May McFettridge) for taking the time to share their story with us.

In typical Grand Opera House pantomime fashion, John said that this year's Goldilocks is a hilarious, original twist on the fairytale. The show was part of lur Cinn Fleadh, an annual traditional Irish music and community festival in Newry City, County Down. is the 145th anniversary of the premiere of Die Fledermaus, having first been performed in Vienna in 1874. In my game you are not working five days a week unless you are doing panto and then that's six days a week for eight weeks.In the last couple of years I've had surgery, including rotator cuff surgery, and that kept me at arm's length from the golf, so the last couple of years hasn't been great for golf. Linehan invented the name and the character by ad libbing — the first name being that of his mother-in-law and the surname being that of an Antrim hurler by the name of Olcan McFettridge, whose exploits in a National Hurling League game had made headlines in the local newspaper, The Irish News, which happened to be beside Linehan when put on the spot. Staged by the world’s largest pantomime producer, Qdos Entertainment, the pantomime follows the story of Belle as she finds herself transported to a cursed castle and held captive by a hideous Beast. And it’s the top part of my body that it’s affecting on the left side area, so I have no muscle strength on my left side.