The Wicked Queen is wandering about backstage in a huge hooped dress, gold-feathered cape, wig, four-inch lashes and a face caked in full drag make-up.
The curtain has just come down after the opening performance of Snow White at the National Stadium in Dublin and panto queen Katherine Lynch is in her element.
“I get all the boos I want - though usually my kind of booze is a gin and tonic,” cackles Lynch. “It’s as camp as a row of tents and I love it.”
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The Leitrim legend first made a splash in Dublin’s vibrant gay scene as in the 1990s when she won Alternative Miss Ireland as Tampy Lillette. She was soon doing comedy for RTE, with hit shows such as Working Girls, Wonderwomen and Wagons Den.
The hilarious series featured much effing and blinding, risque humour and notoriously un-PC characters like country star wannabe Bernie Walsh; Sheila Sheik - who returns to Tallaght from a trip to Egypt with a new husband - and Liz Hurley. the sexually confused Leitrim ladies' GAA coach.
Katherine told the Irish Mirror: "I still can’t walk down the street on a daily basis without people asking me when I’m coming back on the telly.
"I don’t know - if I was offered the right situation - and the right money. It’s a small country so there’s only so many pots you can boil your potatoes in.
"I will probably do it at some stage again.”
The cancel culture brigade - who don't do satire - would surely choose to find offense in Katherine's comedy these days. Does she think so?
The Mohill woman says: “I still don’t give a toss. There’s still great punks out there like Joanne McNally who doesn’t give a toss. You always need strong women who don’t give a damn about PC.
"As long as we’re not being homophobic, racist and sexist, then we’re grand. Not one person was ever offended or told me they were offended by anything I said or did.
“Everyone’s changed a bit with the times. I think ground control major PC-ness is landing softly. We’re all relearning how to deliver.
"To get away with ‘bold’ humour is to bring it back on you – ridiculing others isn’t on.”
Lynch leapt at the chance to play the Wicked Witch when old pals Alan Hughes and Karl Broderick asked her to join this year's panto.
“I’ve been coming to this panto for 20 years and always wanted to do it."
A natural play-actor, Lynch is a straight actor too - she was in Madhouse at the Abbey and performed during Covid there too.
“Covid showed us theatres could get shut down – I never dreamed that could happen so I was mad to get back up on stage. It's like throwing me into a sweet shop.”
When Lynch reveals there’s “a very handsome prince from Red Rock” treading the boards with her, the actor Adam Weafer pops his head round the door to tell her he can hear her.
“The queen is mad about the prince but he has no interest in her – the story of my life really,” she laughs. “Sure look, I might throw my panto leg over.”
“Really, I’ve the best new family for Christmas – it’s like a holiday romance or meeting the best bunch of people when you’re traveling and you think you’ll be best friends forever.”
After all the panto partying, Lynch is off to her home from home in Nice in France, where she bought a property in the 2000s “when she had a few bob”.
“I was going to buy in Ireland and my dad said be romantic and buy somewhere you like. I love it.
“I am single and delighted with myself. I haven’t been single for years so I’m really enjoying it. You’re supposed to be sad when you’re single but I’m the happiest single woman in the world. I’m off traveling in March for two months, and going to Nice to do a bit of writing. They should change the word single to free. It’s wonderful.”
Lynch, 51, baulks at the notion of settling into “a quiet life”.
“Nobody gives a s**t what age you are in the south of France.
“I’m not buying into that idea and I don’t think my married brothers or sister buy into it either. My mother gave us all a great sense of staying young. She’s amazing and into everything and is so young at heart and keeps us the same.
“Nobody will thank you for sitting round at home and being a good girl. I always think philosophically, what will you regret on your deathbed? You won’t regret you didn’t work harder. You’ll regret not having fun and having adventures and making more friends and writing poetry people will never read.
She continues: “Part of going to Nice, I thought: 'I’ll be quieter over here’.
"Then I went out to the pub one night and woke up with 40 friends. Then I was off out again with them that night. I’ve a lovely bunch of fab artist friends.
"One sings for the Prince of Monaco, then there are buskers, jazz musicians, actors and writers.”
Another passion project taking up a lot of her time these days is her podcast with pal Brian Kennedy, Around the World in 80 Gays.
“It’s another way for me to go to the gay bar – it’s about gay icons.
"We do it for the community and to keep our finger on the pulse as there’s not as much community in Dublin these days, I think.
“We’re fab pals and have great chemistry. We’ve had loads on already who were on our wishlist - Declan Buckley, Brendan Courtney, Panti, Wallis Bird.
"We’re looking at Boy George who will probably come on it after he finishes The Voice.”
“They call me a gay ally, friends of the gays will do me fine. Fag hag will do me fine. It’s not PC to use that is it?”
After her wicked witchery, scribbling poetry in Nice is the height of her plans for now - and that’s how she likes it.
“I’ll do writing and under-achieve in peace for a while in Nice. I don’t think too far ahead.
"We don’t have the luxury in the art world to know what we’re doing next.
That’s a level of freedom but it can cause anxiety.
"Things come my way and I just do them and enjoy the synchronicity of life.”
“The joy of a few months in Nice, the sun, the culture and food and friends – life is too short."
Snow White and Sammy and Buffy runs at the National Stadium until January 8.
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