Kevin Dyer’s delightful re-imagining of this tale as old as time is wonderfully brought to life under the direction of Nina Hajiyianni with memorable musical composition by Patrick Dineen to keep us on the right path as Little Red (Fatima Jahara) heads into the forest with the blessing of her mother (Anoush Kendrick) to visit her sickly Grandma (Francesca Anderson), but on the way she encounters a rather hungry Wolfie (Stephanie Greer) who has other plans for her.
There is a surreal quality to this re-telling and the all-female cast deliver inspired performances with Anderson, Greer, and Kendrick also taking on ensemble roles as the journey unravels with lots of humour and the right amount of scare, wrapped up in song and some outstanding choreography. Anderson’s Grandma is instantly recognisable, full of warmth and good humour whilst Greer’s mastery of expression and physical theatre delivers the perfect wolf, sinister on one hand but drawing our sympathy and understanding in equal measure on the other. Kendrick’s woodcutter mother is full of compassion with a beautiful vocal, whilst Jahara wonderfully evoked the spirit of each and every one of us as we embark on life’s journeys.
There’s always a lot of debate about modernising fairytales but this production serves up the perfect combination by remaining faithful to the original story whilst introducing compassion as we are asked to consider the consequences of hunting and deforestation on nature: these are important questions for the future of mankind and this the perfect forum to engage the younger minds who will navigate such challenges to take themselves and future generations to a brighter future.
Elizabeth Wright’s staging and set, based on an original design by Sydonie Paterson, were inspired as we were effectively treated to an almost theatre in the round experience with Julie Kearney’s lighting adding to the immersive sense of mystery as our magical path twists and turns around the bending trees to the accompaniment of birdsong: the young audience were enraptured and so was I, none more so than when the woodland seamlessly transformed into the cottage to the accompanying movement of all the cast.
The audience engagement was gentle and sensitively handled with opportunities for them to howl and holler as they followed the story with much accompanying debate from where I was sat about what they thought might happen next. But the writing and performances were multi-layered, and it was as much a delight to watch as an adult as it was in entertaining my inner child.
Little Red plays through to 13th January with performances at various times and school and group bookings welcomed. Further details https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/theatreporto/little-red-live-winter-2023-24/e-mmxvzv
Kevin Dyer is Associate Writer at Theatre Porto amongst many other things. He has over thirty commissioned plays behind him and his play, The Syrian Baker, won the Writers Guild Award for Best Play in 2022.
Originally devised in 2016, this current production is the result of the wonderful collaboration between Theatre Porto, HOME Manchester, Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Eastern Angles, and Jessica Egan-Simon.
Theatre Porto has been making work for children, young people, and the communities of Ellesmere Port for over 35 years, and in August 2022, opened a brand new, specialist theatre and cultural hub in Whitby Park. It’s a calm, creative space complete with its own café and well worth a visit. Further details https://theatreporto.org/
Reviewer: Mark Davoren
Reviewed: 8th December 2023
North West End UK Rating: