Little Red Riding Hood

It’s perhaps understandable, given the venue, that this version of the classic fairy tale comes across as a very Glasgow indie Christmas show. Alasdair Macrae, Mary Gapinski and Ewan Donald narrate the story in soft Jackanory-style accents, while playing a charming, minimal score on acoustic guitar, whistle and saw. Natalie McConnon, meanwhile, is a decidedly Art School Little Red Riding Hood in red duffel coat and thick tights.

This is a sweet tale well told, though, and it does live up to its billing of being suitable for everyone from the very young to the very old. McConnon’s role is a blend of tomboyish feistiness and childlike wonder, and a woodland set populated by puppet animals and Macrae’s strangely polite Wolf is simple but magical.

Director Julie Brown has created a fairy tale world which will appeal to even the most jaded child-accompanying parent, while the sensitive tone of the play is punctuated by some well-worked action set-pieces – not least when the Wolf finally gets his hands on Granny.