Have you ever asked yourself what happened to Little Red Riding Hood after her narrow escape from a wolf’s belly? Well, all-round creative force Penny Shaw did and has developed a witty children’s opera set to the music of Don Giovanni to tell us what happened next…
We’re some decades on now and Little Red Riding Hood is no longer so little. In fact, she’s a fully grown adult with her own daughter, Little Red (Jnr?), and another on the way! She’s got a hot new beau who is a woodchopper and has his magic talking and singing dog, Wolfie, in tow. She hasn’t quite found a way to deliver the news yet to the vivacious new Little Red that she’s about to become a big sister and has a new stepdad, so you can only imagine the shenanigans that ensue.
This delightful and dynamic cast consists of Charis Postmus as Little Red, Sholto Foss as Wolfie, Sam Claxton as Don, and Michele Pryor as Mum (Anna, formerly Little Red). Having seen each performer in previous productions, I was incredibly impressed by their ability to deliver opera in a kid-friendly manner, full of over-the-top expressions and mannerisms, particularly from Wolfie.
Freeze Frame Opera is set to take this show on a school tour, delivering a whopping 56 performances across six weeks! In the show’s program, the company describes how it aims to deliver a production that will “captivate primary school students and their teachers”. Given the amount I laughed during this production, I have no doubt this show will provide much-needed reprieve and entertainment for teachers.
As with all Freeze Frame productions, the singing is spectacular and another excellent display of our talented West Australian performers. Being both an entertaining and educational experience, the audience was also treated to 10 or so minutes of a post-show opera lesson. So not only did I walk away having seen the sequel to Little Red Riding Hood, I also stepped away a certified (novice) opera singer.