Little Red Riding Hood

When the “Big Bad Wolf” declares himself to be a vegetarian, it was always possible that we were about to see the shortest pantomime on record.  But this writer/producer, Ryan Stocks, is never one to be constrained by traditional story-telling; after all last year’s Friar Tuck turned out to be a woman and before that Dorothy’s beloved Toto in Oz had been a cat. Following many previous appearances as the Dame, Mike Hall, as Steve the wolf, is thus only partly able to fulfil his ambition to be the villain of the piece as we do begin to sympathise with his efforts to carry out a role for which his character is clearly unsuitable. A real villain does, however, emerge as we meet the “Wannabe Witch”, Anna Conda, played with suitable menace by Alison Fawcett, who, having the wolf under whatever is the reptile equivalent of her thumb, orders him to carry out her dirty work for her.

Emma Money gave a good performance in the title role whilst, in a further departure from the usual tale, she gains a boy-friend in the form of Rick, the ringmaster of the circus which just happens to be visiting town. Jess Plunkett made a good, thigh-slapping principal boy in what is likely to be the last of 8 performances with the group before leaving for University later this year.  The introduction of the circus gave us an energetic ending to the first act as several members were able to demonstrate their acrobatic or juggling skills.

Comedy, including a rather messy slapstick scene in the kitchen, was provided by Chris Scott and Anthony Smith as Dame Fran Tick and Little Boy Blue respectively. Both had a tendency to throw away their lines, which they may have remedied as they gained confidence later in the week.  Further laughs came from Joanne Johnson and Catherine Colman, now an established double act here, this time as a pair of policemen, on one occasion making their entrance through the audience on a tricycle.  I enjoyed the character of Woody the Woodcutter, played with appropriate authority by Geoff Dickson and this provided an opportunity for him to give us his version of the familiar Monty Python song about a lumberjack.

At one point I did hear a voice behind me mention that he had heard better jokes in Christmas crackers, but I felt this was rather an unkind remark. After all this is pantomime not Oscar Wilde and once again Ryan Stocks had given the group a good script with which to work. With his tendency to depart from the traditional, I wonder if he might one day turn his attention to the Christmas story, which, albeit not pantomime, could allow interesting changes to the school nativity play. What if the innkeeper, bowing to pressure from Joseph and Mary, allowed them the use of his honeymoon suite?  A step too far, perhaps, but we await next year’s production with interest and trust that the group will continue to raise money for local charities, last year amounting to more than £2500. Well done.

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