Leeds City Varieties Music Hall – until 12 January 2020
Reviewed by Sally Richmond
5*****
Unfiltered joyous laughter could be heard all across Leeds last night as Red Riding Hood, the famous Rock n Roll pantomime (written by Peter Rowe and directed by Rob Salmon), was performed at the wonderful Leeds City Varieties music hall; where one always receives the warmest of welcomes.
The multi-talented cast gave hilarious and highly entertaining performances from the second they skipped on the stage – to the moment they danced off and of course – the audience was left shouting for more!
The Rock n Roll panto is legendary in Leeds and it’s obvious why – where else can you see the Dame on a sax and Fairies hitting the drums? Innuendo filled, this show is one for the adults too and spontaneous belly laughs came from every seat.
Following a traditional pantomime format, Red Riding Hood didn’t fail to deliver in giving the audience all the elements one wants and expects. Our heroine (Lucy Keirl) dressed in red, falls in love but only to be duped by an unscrupulous wolf. Along the way she meets some comedic characters and much chaos and confusion ensues. By the end, all ends well and families are united, good conquerors evil and leaves that fuzzy warm feeling inside.
The show stealing moments were given by the Dame (Simon Nock) who was: tasteless, crass, crude and rude. Perfect! This character really engaged the audience and created a huge amount of laughter just through his physical appearance alone! All this aside, the flawlessly performed musical numbers (directed by Dan de Cruz) were worth the cost of the ticket so you really are getting good value for money here; a panto and a rock concert in one!
If you want some Christmas cheer or to start the New Year smiling, then go and see this pantomime because you really will experience those feel good vibes from start to finish.