Little Red, great granddaughter of Little Red Riding Hood, yearns to be a superhero (isn’t it about time boys are allowed to be superheroes again?) but the wolf who wants to eat her is named Wilbur and is a bit of a softie and finds it tough being a lone wolf. He wants to join a wolverine gang whose members are cool and yearn for the grim old pre-Disney days when wolves were wolves.

Wilbur’s initiation test to join the Furry Dudes is to eat a child, so he goes off into the bush searching for Red assisted by Don the DOC worker who innocently provides him with a disguise. There is of course a happy Disney ending and no one in the audience seemed upset at the thought of Red being eaten.

While there may be a few too many words in Rachel Henry’s script, particularly at the start, there are plenty of opportunities for Anne Rene Brashier (Red), Richard Dey (Wilbur) and Adam Donald (Nana, Claw) and Fingal Pollock (Fang, Don of Doc) to get the audience involved with some lively howling and he-went-that-way activities and some cheerful songs.

The innovation of projected scenery to KidzStuff shows is vindicated with some great shots of native bush.

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It’s a long time since I’ve been to a Kidzstuff show and what a great venue the Tararua Tramping Club Hall in Moncrieff Street is.

A full house of excited children (and adults) are welcomed by a couple of furry characters at the entrance – a nice idea for any kids who may be concerned about there being wolves in the show. In fact there are three wolves!

Wilbur (Richard Dey) is having a hard time being a lone wolf and wants to join the local wolf gang with Fang (Fingal Pollock – who also plays Don the doc worker) and Claw (Adam Donald – who also plays Mum and Nana). Being cool is very important to them as they remind us in the song “Don’t forget to be cool” – add in appropriate cool howls and poses. (Great music and accompaniment on guitar by Richard Dey.)

Wilbur is given an initiation challenge to prove his value to the gang but he struggles with the major problem that even though he wants to be cool he doesn’t want to do the task because he doesn’t agree with it – well would you want to catch and eat a child?! 

Meanwhile Red (Anne Rene Brashier) – a.k.a Little Red Riding Hood (her ‘epic’ full name) – is a super hero in training and wears the red hood of the original Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother. She teaches the audience some great ninja moves and sings a fabulous song called “Superhero”. She is off to deliver her grandmother some Ninja Bread.

What ensues is a hilarious cat and mouse game with Wilbur trying to catch Red before discovering that he seriously chose the wrong family to mess with.

Rachel Henry has written a brilliant script, bringing this fairy tale into a new era. The childhood appeal of Superheros especially is inspired and there are strong messages (more so for the school aged child) of being yourself, having dreams, not needing to do silly things to impress people, and being cool isn’t always what its cracked up to be.

The set/lighting and costuming are very effective, with clever usage of the hall kitchen as an entrance way but also as a kitchen in Red’s and Nana’s houses. It is great to see multimedia being used together with the script in such an entertaining way, with a giant screen projecting the scenery passed through by Wilbur on his mammoth runs through the countryside trying to catch Red, and also references to pop culture superhero’s – KAPOW!!.

Kidzstuff Theatre have been producing shows for children for 15 years and obviously have the recipe right judging by the enthralled kids at the first show. This was the first audience for the very talented cast and they coped admirably with interjections, funny (and sometimes a little too repetitive) and were pros at making the audience feel completely part of the experience.

It is billed for 2 – 10 year olds and with the music, dance and kids participation, my 14 month old also loved it. This from another couple of audience members:

“I liked Red Riding Hood best because she has a red hood”, Fleur (5), who was also dressed in red. 

Her 8 year old brother couldn’t decide what he liked the best but the smile on his face told the story I believe of the rest of the audience too. 

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