Once Upon A
Time In Cooksonville…
Little Red Riding Hood
South Shields
Customs House
Until Saturday 10th January 2015
A
pantomime should have something for all of the family including laughs, songs
and shouts of “behind you” and this year’s production at the Customs House has
them all in bucket loads.
The
storyline is revealed in the first scene but this production by Ray Spencer and
Graeme Thompson is about much more than the final climax. Natasha Haws is the
delightful Little Red Riding Hood and she puts her experience as a singer to good
use early on with Pharrell Williams’ Happy.
The jokes were flying from the start as Red described her family as consisting of
“Aunty Freeze and Uncle Timber”. Timber,
played by Craig Richardson, quickly engaged with the audience.
Granny
Hood represented the come back of South Shields’ legend Ray Spencer. His
wit and repartee often echoed the late great Les Dawson. Rarely was a line
delivered without a pun. Occasionally the innuendo flew over the head of the
younger members of the audience. Ray was
as happy performing slapstick in his fish shop as he was tap dancing on the big
production number Tap Your Troubles Away.
The
lavish production values for one of the regions smaller pantomimes extended to
the wonderful bad guys. The outfits of Wolfgang and Bracken coupled with the
opportunity to wind up the audience on a regular basis must make these great
roles to perform in. Steven Lee Hamilton, as Wolfgang, makes a great baddy for
the kids to boo at. Jamie Birkett also produced the singing performance of the
evening with her wonderful version of Disney’s Let It Go. The year’s hits
fitted in well with the story and even included Everything Is Awesome from this year’s blockbuster Lego The Movie.
The
supporting cast included Three lovely Little Pigs who were the source of many
piggy jokes, a glamorous Prince Charming, the crafty Mr Fracker and a troupe of
talented young dancers.
The
show describes itself as the “Little
Panto with the big heart and eyes and teeth” which is pretty accurate. The
show is crammed full of jokes and popular recent hits. The talented cast offer a fun way to spend
time with your family.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR
(www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen
@panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo.
Tickets:
Little Red Riding
Hood is at The Customs House from December 2 to
January 10.
Tickets, priced from
£9, are available from the box office on 0191 454 1234 or visit www.customshouse.co.uk.
Cast:
Natasha Haws: Red
Ray Spencer: Granny Hood
Steven Lee Hamilton: Wolfgang
Jamie Birkett: Bracken
Jamie Brown: Prince Chop-a-lot
Craig Richardson: Timber
Stephen Sullivan: Mr Fracker
Luke Maddison: Savaloy
Gareth Hunter: Bratwurst
Kylie Ann Ford: Chorizo
No comments:
Post a Comment