Review: Stratford on Stage delivers a great pantomime for an adult audience

Oh yes they are: Well cast in their roles that is. Pictured are some of the cast of Stratford on Stage's latest production - Little Red Riding Hood Goes Blue.

Stratford on Stage’s latest offering - Little Red Riding Hood Goes Blue - is a pantomime but not as you might know it.

Written by the legendary comedy duo David McPhail and Jon Gadsby, the script allows for directors to update it to include topical references.

Directed by Donna Drummond, this version takes advantage of being able to use directorial artistic license nicely, ensuring the laughs keep coming throughout.

As the political party activist, Vanessa Triggs is brilliant. Her interruptions and demands for change to a colour scheme, not to mention concerns about Riding Hood’s hairstyle, are delivered fantastically throughout the show.

Rachel Wilson plays a member of the Green Party who wants to save all sorts of things, and while she makes every moment she is on stage count, she has an impressive singing voice too, and it would be great to hear more from her in future productions.

Great comedy, and singing - rap style - also comes from Hamish Mcall and Justine Isaac as Fred and Fergie Fracker, with some absolutely brilliant performances by both of them. Both of them are great fun to watch, and both have great stage presence.

Jack Linton as the woodcutter with a penchant for chopping down native trees is another example of excellent casting, and he brings out plenty of comedy in his character throughout with some great comedic timing.

Rubeana Reader as the storyteller is in top form in this production, and thanks to brilliant costume design by herself and Patsy Commerford, she gets the laughs before she even opens her mouth - if a mushroom can be described as having a mouth.

Reader’s eye rolls and grimaces throughout the play drag the audience in on the joke, and add to the comedy playing out on the stage.

Red Riding Hood is played by Kesli Bailey who delivers the perfect balance of fairy tale heroine, with a little bit of sass coming through the outward ditsiness. Her scenes with the wolf are particularly enjoyable throughout the show.

That wolf is played by Carl Triggs who is well cast in this show, both as wolf and as a rather familiar deputy prime minister. He’s great fun to watch, and it’s to be hoped he continues to appear on The Castle stage in future productions.

There’s no pantomime without a dame, and Paul Kuriger makes for an excellent, over the top, dame as the grandmother in this production. He’s fantastic fun to watch, using excellent physical comedy throughout.

As always with Stratford on Stage productions, set design and lighting are well executed and add an extra level to the show. While some lines and cues were missed on review night, as it was a dress rehearsal some days away from opening, it’s likely these will be fixed by showtime.

Missed lines aside, it’s a great night’s entertainment with everything that makes a pantomime fun, with the added edge of this one being very definitely for adults, not children.

The details:

What: Stratford on Stage presents Little Red Riding Hood Goes Blue

When: May 10 - 18

Where: The Castle, Stratford

Tickets: iTicket.co.nz