There would be few people who have not heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood, a cautionary tale warning of what we now refer to as "stranger danger" and, let's face it, they don't come much stranger than a talking wolf.
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Windmill Theatre's Big Bad Wolf takes a very different look at the fairy tale by asking whether the wolf has been condemned simply because he is a wolf.
The production will be at TRECC in Tamworth at 6pm on Thursday, October 18 and 10.30am and 12.30pm on Friday, October 19.
Wolves are very often portrayed as the "bad guys", from the villain in The Three Little Pigs, to modern tales of werewolves. This production suggests that we might be judging all wolves by the behaviour of a few and suggests that perhaps we had misjudged them.
Based in Adelaide, Windmill Theatre is Australia's premier children's theatre company, touring its productions around the country and internationally. They have won a string of awards for their work.
Written by Sydney-based actor and playwright, Matthew Whittet, the production is directed by Windmill's artistic director, Rosemary Myers and, as usual with Windmill shows, there is plenty to engage both the young kids and us old kids alike.
Jonathon Oxlade's set design looks as though it could have just jumped straight out of the pages of a book of fairy tales.
The cottage in the scene belongs to Heidi Hood, a relative of Little Red Riding Hood, and the wolf, not at all frighteningly named Wolfy, lives in the nearby forest.
The whole village is constantly on alert, in fear of the wolf and what he might do if he catches them off guard. Heidi is the most vigilant of them all, with a wolf alarm that you have to see and hear for yourself to believe.
It transpires that Wolfy is a "vegematarian", with a penchant for writing poetry and communing with nature.
Being a wolf, he has bad breath, and so carries breath mints. He tries to make friends with the white rabbit by offering a mint, but the fluffy bunny is too scared to accept.
Heidi has won just about every award possible, her cottage is festooned with medals, and every surface carries cups. Then the television announces a competition for the best poem, and Heidi sees another chance to win an award.
Wolfy peeps in through her window and sees her trying to write a poem. She lets down her guard and a friendship quickly develops.
Windmill regular, Patrick Graham, plays the rather nerdy and soft-spoken Wolfy.
Heidi is played by Emma J. Hawkins, who brings some amazing physical technique to her role.
She rolls, jumps, skips and, at times, almost seems to fly across the stage at incredible speeds.
There is one more person on stage, and that is the narrator, Kate Cheel, who plays everybody else, from the white rabbit, to the armchair, to the tree, to the flea, to Wolfy's mother, the Grandmaster Wolf, to the television reporter.
To book your seats visit entertainmentvenues.com.au, call 6766 2028, or visit the box office at Capitol Theatre and The Big Golden Guitar.