Little Red Riding Hood

This was a Pantomime with something for everyone with a good script, colourful costumes and sets, interesting choice of songs, baddies to boo, heroes to cheer, an outrageous dame, a good fairy, a charming Red Riding Hood and plenty of slapstick.

The Pantomime opened with pyrotechnic flashes announcing the arrival of evil Queen Monochrome, who explains to the audience that she wants to remove all colour from the world and has only to capture Red in the form of Little Red Riding Hood, to succeed with her plan.  Boo, Hiss.  The lighting was well operated and had been very well designed.  It started well with the contrasting halves of the stage for Queen Monochrome in white light and Fairy Rainbow in rose, through the sky effects, disco lighting and the effect at the end of Act 1 and the rainbow for the finale.  There were also clear well-cued sound effects; I liked the huffing and puffing to blow down the pigs’ houses.  Costumes were attractive, colourful, well co-ordinated and specific to each of the characters.  The wolf and the Three pigs were memorable, particularly the pigs’ masks which were flexible enough to allow movement and the voices to come through.  The opening Chorus number was colourful, both with set and costumes, and full of energy in both singing and dancing, with big smiles from everyone.  The characters were all quickly introduced with the audience participating in waking Little Boy Blue each time he fell asleep. The house-building scene was well timed and full of fun, producing lots of giggles from a small child sitting in front of me, but the ‘straw house’ went on for a bit too long.  The following of instructions from the book was amusing, as the book was frequently dropped and opened at a different page, which was totally unrelated to the previous instructions, with an unexpected conclusion.  Highlights of the show were the finales of both Acts, both were rousing, well lit, with strong movement and interesting groupings.  The show had been well cast with everyone having created their individual characters.  Queen Monochrome gave a convincing portrayal as someone on the point of taking over the world, and you actually felt she might succeed.  Fairy Rainbow in contrast was much gentler, trying to save the day by outwitting her opponent.  Dame Marigold was a typical pantomime dame complete with lovely daughter and lazy son.  Little Red Riding Hood and Prince Verdigris made a handsome couple, with the Prince trying to protect ‘Red’.  The three pigs Bob, Fred and Tarquin had each developed their individual characters, helped by their costumes, and movements, not an easy task hidden behind their wonderful masks.  The wolf came across well as the other ‘baddie’; his costume had been very well designed allowing him all movement and facial expression, chasing after those pigs.  The three extra ‘principal boys’ in the form of Red Riding Hood’s other three suitors Aladdin, Jack, and Dick, all looked and acted the parts.  The Grandmother was suitably grumpy when released from her wardrobe.  John Smith gained a great deal of audience support as the singer who kept appearing to audition and, when he eventually managed it, was told ‘next year’.  Choreographer Natalie Britton had certainly put the cast through their paces, devising high-energy, well-disciplined dance routines, which had obviously been well rehearsed.  There was an eclectic mix of music for this show ranging from the Muppets to The Scarlet Pimpernel with a few usual panto numbers included.  The band under the direction of Roger Winter supported the cast well and provided excellent accompaniment.  The numbers were well sung musically but diction in some of the songs was not as clear as it could have been.  The whole company had worked together as a team, with cast being well supported by musicians, and dedicated Backstage and Front of House teams.  Gary Kennedy had directed his cast well to provide a well paced, well timed energetic show which provided audiences with an excellent evenings entertainment.

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