Panto at Cork's Everyman an old tale with a modern twist

This year’s panto at The Everyman, Red Riding Hood, is high-energy and fast-paced and packs in all the singing and dancing, the colour and costumes, and the cheers and boos, you’d expect, but there is a lot more going on.

The panto follows the classic Red Riding Hood fairytale, but with a modern twist. Granny, or, as she prefers to be called, Peggy Twomey (played by Fionula Linehan), leads a successful cereal company, with her magical granola popular across the land.

But this, and the very fate of Fairytale Land, is all put in jeopardy when the evil wolf, Deco, arrives from Dublin. 

Dejected from Peggy’s refusal to go into business with him, Deco (played by Michael Sands) hatches a plan to steal Peggy’s secret ingredient from the forest for his own cereal.

Hilarious 

Cue lots of hilarious antics, big musical numbers, and a few scary moments, as Red, played on Friday by 11-year-old Grace O’Halloran, sets out on a quest to save the land. (Grace shares the role with 10-year-old Robyn O’Riordan). She is joined by best-friend, Pip, played by Aoife Hosford, and her imaginary friend, Boo-Boo, played by Andrew Lane.

Along the way they meet Jack the Woodcutter, played by Pádraic Di Fusco, as he’s just about to record a Tik-Tok clip, a scene that proved particularly popular with the audience. Of course, Pip and Jack later fall in love, but the romance is more of an aside than anything else.

Back at base, Granny is oblivious to the potential peril facing her granddaughter, as she spends time with her pooch, Pana the Poodle, played by Graham McDermott.

While pantos can sometimes feel predictable, it was nigh impossible to know what was coming next with this one. 

In a show that spanned just over two hours, the writers managed to squeeze in plenty of drama and comedy for children and adults alike, all with a decidedly Cork flavour.

• ‘Red Riding Hood’ continues at The Everyman until January 12.