REVIEW
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
Beecroft Gallery | 29th + 30th December
Small Gains Hall, Canvey | 4th January
Hadleigh Old Fire Station | 5+6th January 2023
Mill Arts Centre, Rayleigh | 12th January 2023
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
Beecroft Gallery | 29th + 30th December
Small Gains Hall, Canvey | 4th January
Hadleigh Old Fire Station | 5+6th January 2023
Mill Arts Centre, Rayleigh | 12th January 2023
Just the tonic for a cold, damp night
There is nothing better on a cold, wet night than having fun watching a panto and Show Up Productions Little Red was just the ticket.
This small cast production with just seven women, some doubling up, had the audience in stitches with their hilarious take on the old style panto. This version had the Big Bad Wolf trying to knock down a forest and build a road. Standing in the way is the magic tree, which the wolf needs to find, but nobody knows where it is. Amidst the mayhem, Little Red and her Granny are trying to save it. Not only are there lots of jokes and audience interaction, there are also song and dance numbers with tight choreography by Eleanor Stranders. I take my hat off to the cast that they managed to complete great routines on a limited stage area, backed up by the ensemble (Emma Wright and Charlotte Upton). Just in case the audience isn’t sure what is going on, there is a cheeky, chirpy narrator (Grace Kelly) who lets us in on the action in verse. She also appears as several other characters along the way.
Then the Groundskeeper Mac turns up. This is an excellent performance by Roseanna Connolly who ad-libs, and dominates the stage with hilarious comedy. Mac even lusts after a member of the audience who becomes part of the narrative. The audience are soon in on the joke and there is lots of shouting out to the actors, not only from children, but the adults as well. These comments are picked up, and responded to by everyone on stage.
As part of the traditional story, Little Red (Trigger Bliss) goes off to visit Granny who is in a Care Home. I am not sure why she is, as Granny (Hannah Brailsford) leaps about in a rock and roll number whilst throwing off her dressing gown and launching into a striptease. As the story moves along, they leave the forest and end up in deckchairs on a beach. Why? Who knows? However, it’s all great fun. The audience loved it. There are laughs all the way. Even when the Big Bad Wolf, appears, a charming performance by Maryam Noorhimli, it is hard to boo. She’s such a charming wolf that nobody sees her as evil. It was funny when in disguise as a lollypop lady she asked how Little Red knew it was the wolf; a child shouted out it was because she had ears and brought the house down. Amongst the clever repartee, there were the usual antics such as spraying the audience with water.
The set is simple, given the space limitations, but they still managed to change the scenery from a supermarket, to a care home to a forest in seconds, and even had a helicopter ride. There was a nod to the big panto at the Cliffs with the stagehands wearing masks of the faces of Joe Pasquale and Rob Rinder. That meant that the audience could tell people that they saw them in panto.
The songs are very clever, particularly the song and dance in the supermarket, I’ve Got Bills, and the poignant song telling everyone that however down they may be that, Everything will be All Right.
This is a high energy, imaginative, slick production. Even though it is produced on a shoestring, it is performed to a high standard. It is better than some large cast, expensive pantos. The actors are very strong, relaxed and improvise on the spot. How the writer and director, Rachel Dingle, kept control of the cast during rehearsals I don’t know. The dialogue had jokey references about Southend, the council and even Boris Johnson.
If you're looking for something to do to get rid of the post-Christmas blues, the show continues to tour around Southend, Canvey, Hadleigh and Rayleigh. Show Up Productions aim to be as accessible and affordable as possible. There are pay what you can tickets available for each show and a variety of tailored shows for different needs such as a baby friendly show and a BSL interpreted show.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The performances continue:-
Beecroft Gallery
Sat 30th December - 11.30am***, 30th December - 2.30pm
Small Gains Hall – Canvey Island
Thurs 4th January - 7pm****
Hadleigh Old Fire Station
Fri 5th January - 7pm, Sat 6th January - 2.30pm*, Sat 6th January - 7pm
Mill Arts Centre - Rayleigh
Fri 12th January - 7pm**
*Relaxed Performance
**Grown Ups Only
*** Baby Friendly
****BSL Interpreted
Prices
Standard £15.00 (1 ticket)
Family £58.00 (4 tickets)
VIP £20.00 (limited number)
Pay What You Can - Every performance has a certain number of tickets that are pay what you can. This option available for other members of our community who can't. If you'd like to pay in advance for tickets then drop them a message!
[email protected]
www.showupproductions.co.uk
This small cast production with just seven women, some doubling up, had the audience in stitches with their hilarious take on the old style panto. This version had the Big Bad Wolf trying to knock down a forest and build a road. Standing in the way is the magic tree, which the wolf needs to find, but nobody knows where it is. Amidst the mayhem, Little Red and her Granny are trying to save it. Not only are there lots of jokes and audience interaction, there are also song and dance numbers with tight choreography by Eleanor Stranders. I take my hat off to the cast that they managed to complete great routines on a limited stage area, backed up by the ensemble (Emma Wright and Charlotte Upton). Just in case the audience isn’t sure what is going on, there is a cheeky, chirpy narrator (Grace Kelly) who lets us in on the action in verse. She also appears as several other characters along the way.
Then the Groundskeeper Mac turns up. This is an excellent performance by Roseanna Connolly who ad-libs, and dominates the stage with hilarious comedy. Mac even lusts after a member of the audience who becomes part of the narrative. The audience are soon in on the joke and there is lots of shouting out to the actors, not only from children, but the adults as well. These comments are picked up, and responded to by everyone on stage.
As part of the traditional story, Little Red (Trigger Bliss) goes off to visit Granny who is in a Care Home. I am not sure why she is, as Granny (Hannah Brailsford) leaps about in a rock and roll number whilst throwing off her dressing gown and launching into a striptease. As the story moves along, they leave the forest and end up in deckchairs on a beach. Why? Who knows? However, it’s all great fun. The audience loved it. There are laughs all the way. Even when the Big Bad Wolf, appears, a charming performance by Maryam Noorhimli, it is hard to boo. She’s such a charming wolf that nobody sees her as evil. It was funny when in disguise as a lollypop lady she asked how Little Red knew it was the wolf; a child shouted out it was because she had ears and brought the house down. Amongst the clever repartee, there were the usual antics such as spraying the audience with water.
The set is simple, given the space limitations, but they still managed to change the scenery from a supermarket, to a care home to a forest in seconds, and even had a helicopter ride. There was a nod to the big panto at the Cliffs with the stagehands wearing masks of the faces of Joe Pasquale and Rob Rinder. That meant that the audience could tell people that they saw them in panto.
The songs are very clever, particularly the song and dance in the supermarket, I’ve Got Bills, and the poignant song telling everyone that however down they may be that, Everything will be All Right.
This is a high energy, imaginative, slick production. Even though it is produced on a shoestring, it is performed to a high standard. It is better than some large cast, expensive pantos. The actors are very strong, relaxed and improvise on the spot. How the writer and director, Rachel Dingle, kept control of the cast during rehearsals I don’t know. The dialogue had jokey references about Southend, the council and even Boris Johnson.
If you're looking for something to do to get rid of the post-Christmas blues, the show continues to tour around Southend, Canvey, Hadleigh and Rayleigh. Show Up Productions aim to be as accessible and affordable as possible. There are pay what you can tickets available for each show and a variety of tailored shows for different needs such as a baby friendly show and a BSL interpreted show.
Review: Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The performances continue:-
Beecroft Gallery
Sat 30th December - 11.30am***, 30th December - 2.30pm
Small Gains Hall – Canvey Island
Thurs 4th January - 7pm****
Hadleigh Old Fire Station
Fri 5th January - 7pm, Sat 6th January - 2.30pm*, Sat 6th January - 7pm
Mill Arts Centre - Rayleigh
Fri 12th January - 7pm**
*Relaxed Performance
**Grown Ups Only
*** Baby Friendly
****BSL Interpreted
Prices
Standard £15.00 (1 ticket)
Family £58.00 (4 tickets)
VIP £20.00 (limited number)
Pay What You Can - Every performance has a certain number of tickets that are pay what you can. This option available for other members of our community who can't. If you'd like to pay in advance for tickets then drop them a message!
[email protected]
www.showupproductions.co.uk
Panto is back! With songs, laughter and magic galore!
Join the adventure with Little Red on our South Essex tour!
Little Red loves nothing more than being in the magical forest. Visiting her grandma is the last thing she wants to do when there’s adventures to have! But when she finds out that the nasty Wolf has plans to tear down the oldest tree in the forest she will need to team up with grandma and her mates to save the day. Small but mighty Little Red hatches a plan but she needs you! Can you help Little Red, Grandma and the handsome Groundskeeper stop the evil Wolf from destroying the magical forest?!
Our cast of seven will bedazzle you with incredible vocals, ingenious set pieces and brand new comedy routines - this is a panto you’ll remember for years to come!
Join the adventure with Little Red on our South Essex tour!
Little Red loves nothing more than being in the magical forest. Visiting her grandma is the last thing she wants to do when there’s adventures to have! But when she finds out that the nasty Wolf has plans to tear down the oldest tree in the forest she will need to team up with grandma and her mates to save the day. Small but mighty Little Red hatches a plan but she needs you! Can you help Little Red, Grandma and the handsome Groundskeeper stop the evil Wolf from destroying the magical forest?!
Our cast of seven will bedazzle you with incredible vocals, ingenious set pieces and brand new comedy routines - this is a panto you’ll remember for years to come!
Below: the cast in previous productions
WHO?
Rachel, who founded Show Up Productions, grew up in Benfleet and attended Westcliff High School for Girls. She trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts - one of the country's top drama schools. She’s worked extensively in theatre in set and costume design, wardrobe, stage management and more. She’s worked at The National Theatre, The Criterion Theatre in London, The Liverpool Empire and most recently headed up the Retail Set Dressing department for The Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience in Manchester and Belgium.
When not working away she is focusing on writing and producing her own work. She also set up Show Up! Southend during the pandemic to help promote the creative industries in her hometown.
CAST:
Trigger Bliss - Little Red
Maryam Noorhimli - Wolf
Joanne Seymour - Grandma
Rosie Connolly - Groundskeeper
Grace Kelly - Narrator
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY RACHEL DINGLE
PAST PRESS COVERAGE
“WE LEFT THE BUILDING BUZZING ABOUT WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE WE'D HAD”
Southend Theatre Scene on “Stab in the Dark”
“OUR KIDS WERE HOOKED. CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!”
Audience Member on “The Ghost Party”
"ROBYN HOOD PURPORTED TO BE PANTO ‘BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT’ BUT THIS IS PANTO AS WE SHOULD BE SEEING IT MORE OFTEN: STRIPPED BACK, GENUINELY COMMUNITY BASED, BAWDY, BRAVE AND ABOVE ALL FUNNY. THIS WAS PROOF THAT A CELEBRITY CAST, AND LARGE-SCALE EFFECTS ARE NO REPLACEMENT FOR A SOLID SCRIPT, GREAT PERFORMANCES, AND CREATIVITY. THE FACT THAT IT WAS RAISING MONEY (AND INVOLVED THE CLIENTS OF) LOCAL CHARITY PHAB LIFE WAS ICING ON THE COMMUNITY CAKE."
Southend Theatre Scene on “Robyn Hood”
WHY PANTO?
We want to create theatre in Essex, starting in Castle Point and Southend, to help build a thriving professional theatre industry right here where we live.
Panto is often the first theatre that children get to experience and more often than it should be it’s lazily produced. Copy and paste scripts slung together with old routines coming back time and time again. We want to change that. Our panto will give female performers a chance to play comic roles which are largely performed by men. Plus we’re changing some of the panto tradition; losing the love story and the princess character, spicing up the storyline and so the show will be fit to burst with new ideas.
WHAT ELSE?!
We know that everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment so we are offering a substantial amount of PAY WHAT YOU CAN tickets. These are on a first come first serve basis.
The Phabulous Cafe (a charity providing free training for local people with additional needs) will be back assisting with front of house.
Local company VDUB Tavern will be providing the bar.
We are running a costume competition with Hadleigh library. Anyone can enter a costume design for Grandma’s Raincoat and the winner gets free tickets to the show and their design created onstage.
We were successful in getting funding, including an Arts Council Project Grant and Rochford District UKSPF Funding.
Sponsored by VDUB Tavern, The Design Cabin CIC and LOS Marketing
Website | Instagram | Facebook
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Beecroft Gallery
Fri 29th December - 7pm
Sat 30th December - 11.30am***
Sat 30th December - 2.30pm
Small Gains Hall
Thurs 4th January - 7pm****
Hadleigh Old Fire Station
Fri 5th January - 7pm
Sat 6th January - 2.30pm*
Sat 6th January - 7pm
Mill Arts Centre
Fri 12th January - 7pm**
*Relaxed Performance
Suitable for those who like the volume lower and the lights brighter. Break out room available.
**Grown Ups Only
Love panto but kids aren't your vibe...Join us for a drink along performance with added jokes for the grown ups.
*** Baby Friendly
Bring your baby - and it's fine if they cry!
****BSL Interpreted
BSL interpreter knows every line of dialogue, including songs and conveys it live.
Rachel, who founded Show Up Productions, grew up in Benfleet and attended Westcliff High School for Girls. She trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts - one of the country's top drama schools. She’s worked extensively in theatre in set and costume design, wardrobe, stage management and more. She’s worked at The National Theatre, The Criterion Theatre in London, The Liverpool Empire and most recently headed up the Retail Set Dressing department for The Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience in Manchester and Belgium.
When not working away she is focusing on writing and producing her own work. She also set up Show Up! Southend during the pandemic to help promote the creative industries in her hometown.
CAST:
Trigger Bliss - Little Red
Maryam Noorhimli - Wolf
Joanne Seymour - Grandma
Rosie Connolly - Groundskeeper
Grace Kelly - Narrator
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY RACHEL DINGLE
PAST PRESS COVERAGE
“WE LEFT THE BUILDING BUZZING ABOUT WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE WE'D HAD”
Southend Theatre Scene on “Stab in the Dark”
“OUR KIDS WERE HOOKED. CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!”
Audience Member on “The Ghost Party”
"ROBYN HOOD PURPORTED TO BE PANTO ‘BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT’ BUT THIS IS PANTO AS WE SHOULD BE SEEING IT MORE OFTEN: STRIPPED BACK, GENUINELY COMMUNITY BASED, BAWDY, BRAVE AND ABOVE ALL FUNNY. THIS WAS PROOF THAT A CELEBRITY CAST, AND LARGE-SCALE EFFECTS ARE NO REPLACEMENT FOR A SOLID SCRIPT, GREAT PERFORMANCES, AND CREATIVITY. THE FACT THAT IT WAS RAISING MONEY (AND INVOLVED THE CLIENTS OF) LOCAL CHARITY PHAB LIFE WAS ICING ON THE COMMUNITY CAKE."
Southend Theatre Scene on “Robyn Hood”
WHY PANTO?
We want to create theatre in Essex, starting in Castle Point and Southend, to help build a thriving professional theatre industry right here where we live.
Panto is often the first theatre that children get to experience and more often than it should be it’s lazily produced. Copy and paste scripts slung together with old routines coming back time and time again. We want to change that. Our panto will give female performers a chance to play comic roles which are largely performed by men. Plus we’re changing some of the panto tradition; losing the love story and the princess character, spicing up the storyline and so the show will be fit to burst with new ideas.
WHAT ELSE?!
We know that everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment so we are offering a substantial amount of PAY WHAT YOU CAN tickets. These are on a first come first serve basis.
The Phabulous Cafe (a charity providing free training for local people with additional needs) will be back assisting with front of house.
Local company VDUB Tavern will be providing the bar.
We are running a costume competition with Hadleigh library. Anyone can enter a costume design for Grandma’s Raincoat and the winner gets free tickets to the show and their design created onstage.
We were successful in getting funding, including an Arts Council Project Grant and Rochford District UKSPF Funding.
Sponsored by VDUB Tavern, The Design Cabin CIC and LOS Marketing
Website | Instagram | Facebook
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Beecroft Gallery
Fri 29th December - 7pm
Sat 30th December - 11.30am***
Sat 30th December - 2.30pm
Small Gains Hall
Thurs 4th January - 7pm****
Hadleigh Old Fire Station
Fri 5th January - 7pm
Sat 6th January - 2.30pm*
Sat 6th January - 7pm
Mill Arts Centre
Fri 12th January - 7pm**
*Relaxed Performance
Suitable for those who like the volume lower and the lights brighter. Break out room available.
**Grown Ups Only
Love panto but kids aren't your vibe...Join us for a drink along performance with added jokes for the grown ups.
*** Baby Friendly
Bring your baby - and it's fine if they cry!
****BSL Interpreted
BSL interpreter knows every line of dialogue, including songs and conveys it live.