All good in the hood - review

Red Riding Hood
Repertory Theatre
Till December 18
Reviewed by Alison Hollard

The classical Red Riding Hood has been 'Wanganui-ised' in this pantomime by Roger Hall and directed by Colin Hedivan.

"The Sanctuary" is situated between St Johns Hill and Aramoho and is in imminent danger from greedy property developer Sir Roger Bounder (Paul Collins).

On either side of The Sanctuary are Mother Hood's (Bridget Hurley) and Grandmother Hood's (Chris McKenzie) houses. All the action happens here .... the escaped Wolf from the zoo, love triangles, triple marriage proposals...without a doubt this show will make you laugh out loud.

A great storyline that was easy to follow and the highly skilled actors took you away from your day to day stress to a wonderful imaginary world, that didn't break ground with the classic but still delivered the reliable plot.

Grandmother Hood gave a very physical performance and we loved her (him) immediately.

This character is full of infectious energy.

Sir Roger delivered exactly what you would want and more from The Villain in the plot - he had us all 'boo-ing' him on the twirl of the moustache. A great performance and my seven year old thought he was the best!

Mother Hood was a true professional, and delivered her lines and songs with high energy.

The lovable duo - Morris (Brylee Noble) and Boris (Konrad Shaw) were highly entertaining, popping up when you least expect it, super likeable and you can't get enough of them - and when Morris 'stole' a scene, we heard her extraordinary voice.

Red Riding Hood (Millie Manning) gave a performance full of young star power. Great vocals and very convincing in her character.

Young DOC employee Lance (Benjamin Clow) showed passion and was a self-confessed Lonely Nerd looking for love. He kept the audience attentive and even convinced my nine year old to appear on stage for the final song!

The wolf (Lauren Karl) was cute and loveable even though she 'changed' when the full moon appeared.

The whole cast gave remarkable performances. The repertory staff were wonderful and put on tea and biscuits at interval. The music team were fantastic. The set and costumes were functional and appealing (in particular one of Grandmother Hood's dresses will have all us girls jealous!).

I left with a smile from ear to ear and we laughed all the way home.

I highly recommend this show to all ages - give yourself a treat and book now into one of the remaining shows this week!

*The show will run through to next Sunday 18 December at the Repertory Theatre, Ridgeway St.