The fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood never fails to appeal to people, children in particular. On cold Sunday afternoon, it was nice and warm sitting in The Tivoli Theatre enjoying a matinee show; “The Adventures of Red Riding Hood”.
With colourful costumes, sing-along songs, comedy, fun and lots of joining in, this was great entertainment by The Derek Grant Organization.
The show was thoroughly enjoyed by the children. They were screaming and laughing during the whole performance.
We meet each character (Red, Wolf, Granny, Silly Billy etc.) at the very beginning. Each has their own way to say “Hi” to get more responses from kids and parents and make them more interactive. For example, Granny says “Yuhoo” every time she appears and kids will say it back.
Among all the actors, Silly Billy is most favoured by kids. His acting was fabulous. His silly facial expression, funny reactions and cute costume can easily win children’s sympathy and preference.
Although the play is designed for kids, it is very family-friendly and good for all ages. Parents or grandparents who were there enjoyed it as much as their kids do. Enough interaction kept the audience busy clapping, singing and responding all the time.
The only flaw came when the wolf’s glasses which help him hide his evil eyes came off when he tried to deceive Red Riding Hood. This distracted both the actors and the audience from the story. They could have planned this better and made sure his glasses were fastened. Also, some audience members said that they expected more modern songs to make the play more up-to-date and contemporary.
It was a shame that the turnout was less than expected, it would have been a better show if there was a bigger audience, however, on the whole the performance was colourful and full of energy. It was a nice way to get parents and their children involved in theatre.
Main photo: Xialu Wang
