LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD PANTOMIME – Gaiety Theatre

29 November 2015 – 24 January 2016

Little Red Riding Hood is a girl with problems, wolf problems to be exact. We’ve all been there; wandering through the forest minding our own business and who do we meet other than old Big Bad himself, all teeth and claws. All she ever wanted to do was to get to Grandmother’s house, and she really didn’t have time for all this kerfuffle.

Yes, this is the story of Little Red Riding Hood, a classic tale that has been handed down through the generations. There are many different versions of this tale but always with the same basic structure of a young girl chased by a wolf. It’s an obvious tale for Panto season and has been performed hundreds of times before, and always for a new generation of little people to lap up the safe scares and (Spoiler Alert) happy endings. The Gaiety Panto has a few new twists on the classic with a variety of other fairy tale characters on stage, such as the three little pigs, Pinocchio, Humpty Dumpty, Puss in Boots, Little Bo Peep and Cinderella. The character that holds it all together is Granny McGregor, a classic Panto dame based on the UFC fighter!

There’s more than a splash of contemporary music, with ‘Thinking out loud’ by Ed Sheeran and Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk among others. These are performed with a few alterations to the lyrics to make them fit the play and the cast are well able to handle the songs. The set is very impressive with an animated projection onto the back wall to suit any setting required, such as the forest and the big bad wolf’s lair.

This is a Pantomime, a beast that only comes to life in the run up to Christmas, for an audience packed with under tens as their special treat and possibly their first experience of theatre. Granny McGregor and the Big Bad Wolf are the highlights and the laughs are mainly when they are on stage. All the essential elements are there and the production values are very high. The kids sat transfixed throughout, periodically howling with laughter. For adults, I’d recommend a stiff drink before you take your seat to take the edge off! There are a few moments that will have you laughing along and some good dancing and singing, but really it doesn’t matter what you think, the little ones will love it!

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD PANTOMIME – Gaiety Theatre