A cute reimagining of your favourite Christmas stories
I love The Cockpit – it’s such an under-utilised space, and it’s a space where lots of stories and companies start their journeys and that importance cannot be understated. So this being their first ‘homegrown’ show in 35 years is a lovely celebration of the importance of the theatre in its community.
The walls around the audience hold the names of shops within the heart of Church Street and the show itself focuses on the Big Bad Wolf of Corporations trying to evict smaller businesses to build flats – a sad tale if ever there was one.
The cast are a talented bunch of actor-muso’s each creating their own take on a fairytale classic – Robin Hood, Little Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, Goldilocks…..oh and Mother Hood, played by Glitzy Von Jagger, our Drag Dame for the show. I am a little confused as to why this isn’t being marketed as a pantomime? Oh yes it is.
As we journey through a thinly veiled plot to discover our true selves the script seems stilted in places – sometimes through cast delivery and sometimes just awkwardly placed dialogue. Many times the audience were confused if they were meant to interact or not – which would be cleared up with a stronger prologue.
Goldilocks played by Emilia Harrild, however steals the show, with a ground truthful show of turmoil with a cool edge she really highlights what the team are trying to do, bringing the show to a modern audience. Artie Godden’s cowardly Robin Hood is also endearingly well performed.
What is hard with such a sparse space is it lacks the pizazz of your traditional shows, holding the attention of children without the glamorous production values of big is hard and there were definitely moments in the show where that was missed.
Another issue with the show is sadly the musical arrangements. Although all of the performers are incredibly talented the array of instruments often leads to quite durgy/lacklustre versions of songs which should be taking the roof off – the only song that really gets the crowd going in the whole show is Let Me Entertain You, which earned rapturous applause. For a fairytale trying to update itself starting with Red Red Robin seems to be a misstep.
Overall the show just falls a little flat of the big bombastic pantomimes and children’s shows we as adults want to be swept up in, but will the kids love it? Yes! It’s also very affordable for families – which is the point after all.