Reviewed 8th July 2013
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. 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.
Wolves are very often portrayed as the "bad guys", from the villain in
The Three Little Pigs, to the wargs in J. R. R. Tolkien's stories, 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. What if, it asks, being a big bad wolf meant that he was bad in the same way that one might be a bad driver; very bad at being what a wolf is assumed to be.
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 and are continually being nominated for more, including six nominations in the prestigious Helpmann Awards, to be presented to the winners when they are announced on 29th June in Sydney.
Written by Sydney based actor and playwright, Matthew Whittet, the production is directed by Windmill's Artistic Director, Rose
Mary 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, a credit also to the set building team of
John Meyer, Areste Nicola, Patrick Duggin, Guy Bottroff and
Robert Forrest, as well as the scenic artist, Sandra Anderson. The lighting, by Chris Petridis, also helps with that story book feel. I am sure that every child in the audience would love to have the cottage in their back garden.
The cottage 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. The status quo is about to be shattered.
It transpires that Wolfy is a "vegematarian", with a penchant for writing poetry and communing with nature. He talks to the trees. The one that is his home, talks back to him. 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. He is a sad and lonely wolf, judged for being a wolf and not for himself.
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. She even introduces him to her armchair, which also talks. Wolfy ends up helping her with her poem and, when she suffers stage fright, he throws off his disguise, helps her out, and shows the village how foolish they have been by fearing him.
Windmill regular, Patrick Graham, plays the rather nerdy and soft spoken Wolfy, complete with a great wig, representing his pointy ears, and a couple of little fangs that make him look about as scary as a teddy bear. He gives a beautifully sympathetic interpretation of the role, with as much physical expression as he gives to the dialogue. You simply have to see him conversing with a friendly flea.
Heidi is played by Emma J Hawkins, whose experience working with Circus Oz allows her to bring some amazing physical technique to her role. She rolls, jumps, skips and, at times, almost seems to fly across the stage at incredible speeds. She also gets to disco dance with Wolfy, with some great moves to Harry Covill's music. She gives a most endearing characterisation to the role and the audience cannot help but love Heidi.
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. This performance is a far cry from her last two roles for the State Theatre Company in the classic dramas,
The Glass Menagerie, and
Hedda Gabler. Again, physicality is a big part of her performance, but creating so many diverse characters in such a short time is a remarkable feat. She demonstrates that she is not only a fine dramatic actress, but thoroughly embraces comedy, and knows how to play to a young audience.
Putting the three great performances together gives a production that is typical of Windmill's work, full of colourful characters, totally engaging, a clever story that works on a number of levels, and consistently high production values. There is, of course, a moral to the story, and that is to judge the individual, not blindly accept somebody else's sweeping generalisation of an entire group.
The only drawback to this production is that it has a very short run, ending this weekend. Hopefully it will tour Australia and return to Adelaide for another season later this year. It deserves to be seen by many more youngsters, and us oldsters as well.
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