It's a rap: Pannal panto's 'urban' twist on classic tale!

Pannal Players always like to offer a bit more come panto time and this year's offering certainly puts the 'hood' in Little Red Riding Hood.
The poster for Pannal Players' new production of Little Red: Ridin in da Hood.The poster for Pannal Players' new production of Little Red: Ridin in da Hood.
The poster for Pannal Players' new production of Little Red: Ridin in da Hood.

Their ‘seasonal’ offering in less than a fortnight's time is promising an imaginative presentation of “a traditional fairy tale meets girl power.”Called Little Red: Ridin’ in da Hood, the dynamic double act of writer-director Clive Kirkham and actor Michael Newby (as Lorraine InSpain, Little Red’s grandma) are back with some real twists as Little Red and her posse of girls take on the dastardly wolf and his cronies.Clive Kirkham said: ““My inspiration for taking a new perspective on Little Red stemmed from my first experience of writing Cinderella last year. "Whilst I enjoyed the traditional format I was somewhat dismayed by the limited roles for girls and women and was mindful of how the traditional “happy ever after” story line for Cinderella was also limited. "I also liked the potential for quite a dark story in Little Red and was especially influenced by Angela Carter’s retelling of the myth which was successfully filmed as “the company of wolves ” "Messing around with the title allowed me the opportunity to reference modern, more urban takes and gave Little Red more power as part of a gang with her mates and also hopefully empowers girls and women to take back control. "Some of this urban flavour is also reflected in the use of 70s rap music and current artists like Jess Glynne. "Setting it in the deep dark wood is going to give us chance to have a more immersive experience for the audience and I like the idea that fairytales offer insight into the darker workings of human beings and hope for some genuine scares!”Clive has been a familiar face in previous pantomimes; his roles have included the wicked the Queen in Snow White and Sir Guy of Guiseley in Robin Hood. Clive also choreographs this year’s pantomime. Michael only returned to the panto at Pannal Memorial Hall last year for the first time since he held the office of Harrogate mayor from 2013-14. Running at Pannal Village Hall from Wednesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 17 at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm, it will be, reportedly, quite a dark production.Before anyone gets a little worried that Pannal Players’ panto for 2018 has gone off-piste, the show also promises a great deal of fun – plus a fabulous soundtrack of classic songs from the 1970s to the present day.All proceeds from Little Red: Ridin’ in da Hood will go to local charities supporting families affected by cancer.

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