Classic kids' tale gets a new twist

Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until April 5.

There are two sides to every story....including the classic Little Red Riding Hood which can be seen at the Belgrade's B2 theatre.

This version by the touring Little Angel company features Charlotte Croft as Robyn, the young girl who can't go to bed because she wants to put the record straight on that little Miss with the red hood, who might not have been quite as full of sugar and spice as originally portrayed.

With the help of a simple bedroom set and a variety of puppets, Robyn takes 50 minutes to retell the traditional tale in rhyme and make-believe, throwing in some realistic howling for the poor, misunderstood wolf, who apparently wouldn't have hurt a hair on grandma's head.

This playlet is aimed at seven-plus so that they can appreciate the twists in the script which I'm sure they did - but then the puppets were aimed at much younger children. My own seven-year-old grandchildren did enjoy the performance although I'm not sure how much longer it would have held their attention.

At the end one said: "I liked this version because it was very different and cooler. I didn't like that it was all in one room."

The other commented: "I don't want to tell others what happened in case they go and see the play but I liked the rhymes and the switch in the story....the wolf puppet was friendly and had only lost his pack. I liked the lady telling the story but didn't like that there was only one real character."

This is a Roald Dahl-style retelling with some genuinely funny lines. But it wasn't actually the Dahl version and somehow, I couldn't help feeling it lacked a bit of bite.

For tickets go to: http://www.belgrade.co.uk/