A musical masterpiece sums up this year’s panto from Guide Bridge Theatre, Audenshaw.

The theatrical extravaganza of Red Riding Hood brought back panto in its finest form for 2021 with a spectacular cast, storyline, and enough jokes to last until next year!

If you were lucky enough to get a ticket then you would have experienced two hours of extraordinary theatre, a stage bursting with energy, and plenty of fabulous songs to sing along to.

The show ran from December 1-12 with every night (including matinee shows) completely sold out. A triumph for all the cast and crew’s hard work since rehearsals began back in September.

Barry Crossley’s Red Riding Hood puts many twists and turns on the famous fairy tale and brings a whole host of intriguing characters to the stage, brought to life by an incredibly talented cast.

The journey from start to finish was jam-packed with action, entertainment, and song, all of which were rewarded with constant engagement from an excited audience, who were more than ready to respond with the traditional boos, hisses, and laughs!

The panto opened with a solo performance by the Forest Fairy, Decidua played by Erin Johnson, who was a pure delight to listen to and follow as she narrated throughout. As was Jenny Arundale as Valet, the Prince’s loyal advisor.

Poppy Rigby gave the perfect performance as the panto’s hero Prince Percival who captivated the audience with her witty humour and effortless singing voice. Whilst talented Neve Bertenshaw as Red Riding Hood was equally captivating and captured the hearts of the audience and Prince Percival.

Em Stannage as Simply Simone, befriended the audience from the beginning with her silly antics, and welcomed Ken Broadbent and Jean Radcliffe to the stage as Mayor and Mayoress.

Meanwhile, Pete Curran as Grandma Hood played an extremely funny and fabulous classic Dame with the audience in hysterics from the endless jokes and traditional interaction.

The booing and hissing started thick and fast as Joe Maguire playing Count Lupus stepped onto the stage.

His devilish performance of the Count and later in the show the Wolf captured the audience’s attention as he performed the ‘bad guy’ role perfectly. Simon Turner as Egor brought more evil vibes as he introduced the Count’s spooky laboratory and the pair performed a memorable duet of Monster Mash, which saw the creation of Frankenstein (in a very small and adorable form!).

Count Lupus’s Henchmen Hustle and Bustle played by Bernadette Connor and Damian Cullen made for a funny and entertaining double act, as did Stan Condon and Lilly Hannan as Nosey Parker and Stanley Little and Jessica Davies as Flash Eddy.

But no panto is complete without its chorus and the show was filled with an array of specular performances from a cast of young, intermediate, and senior dancers, including the supper sassy Spice Rack (Grace Marland, Ellie Williams, Aimee Ogden, Erin Dutu and Paige Stockwell) as well as the roles of the lab scientists, villagers, monsters, mayor’s guards, paper boy, lion and chefs played by Stan Condon and Stanley Little.

Directed and choreographed by Jennifer Saville as her pantomime debut with a team behind the big red curtains managing everything from props and costumes to sound and set, this was a panto that everyone involved can be immensely proud of.

Guide Bridge’s Red Riding Hood truly welcomed in the festive spirit - filled with thriving talent, heart-warming performances, and a memorable night enjoyed by all the family.

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