Red Ryeding Hood

Headed up by Grace Kilcoyne as Little Red Ryeding Hood there was plenty of knock about comedy taking place in a fantastically imaginative set as the Rye Players presented their pantomime at the community centre.  Directed by Helen Gray the cast were nothing short of tremendous with the audience fully engaged from the start with the hilarious entrance of the stupendously busty Dame Tabitha Potts played by Andy Godfrey.

Of course the story line bore some resemblance to the Brothers Grimm morality tale that had been adapted by Paul Johnson to a perfect panto formula with the daring female lead,  a scary wolf, a dashing wood cutter all supported by a highly amusing collection of creatures including three little pigs, a dog and a squirrel. The buoyant plot kept the kiddies fully enthralled and the adults appreciated the added dimension of terrible jokes, local references and the brassy sauciness of Andy Godfrey.

The Big Bad Wolf played by Stefan Charles was energetic scary good fun as were the three gremlins who looked and sounded convincingly evil at the same time as being hilarious.

The three little pigs certainly did put the ham back into acting with their physical comedy and their singing was a pleasure to experience as they harnessed the joy that comes from performing.

Hats off to the unsung heroines of the evening: stage manager and set designer Judy Wall and costumes from Sara Givertz who did an excellent job. The prompter Pat Driver kept the show going aided by the only other consistently on-cue member of the ensemble: we, the audience.

We were so glad we made the effort to go to see this excellent production.  Not only did it fill us with cheer but it was great to see a talented and versatile crew who were genuinely funny and gave us a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Image Credits: Pat Driver .