Citizens Theatre Announces RED RIDING HOOD as Christmas Show

The Citizens Theatre has announced its festive show for 2022 will be Red Riding Hood, by award-winning writer Lewis Hetherington and directed by Dominic Hill. A fun filled, festive show for families, the production will be presented at Tramway from 9 -23 December while the major redevelopment of the Citizens Theatre building continues.

Audiences can expect a high energy adaptation of the well-known story with plenty of the hallmark ingredients that have earned the Citizens Theatre a reputation for creating high quality Christmas shows as an alternative to panto for the festive season. With original music, immersive staging and lots of laughs, Red Riding Hood is a magical storytelling experience ideal for children aged 5yrs+ and their families to enjoy together.

Writer, Lewis Hetherington, whose recent credits include Rocket Post! (National Theatre of Scotland), BOYS (The Pappy Show), How To Fix a Broken Wing (Catherine Wheels), and Cèilidh (Theatre Gu Leòr), is a seasoned creator of fresh adaptations of well-known stories. His previous Christmas shows include Rapunzel, Mother Goose Fae Easterhoose, Puss in Boots, The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks (Platform).

On returning to Tramway with this year's Christmas Show, Dominic Hill, Artistic Director of Citizens Theatre commented: "Lewis Hetherington's version of Red Riding Hood is full of fun and adventure with a fearless heroine. A stylish and intimate show with a captivating story and catchy songs, we hope it offers families an entertaining and affordable way to celebrate the festive season together. While the Redevelopment of our building continues, we are grateful to other venues across the city who support us in presenting our shows - and we are delighted to be back at Tramway with a festive family show again this year."

Bringing the story of Red Riding Hood to life will be a talented ensemble of actors including Maureen Carr who will be well-known to younger audiences from her role in CBeebies Molly and Mack and to the nation as 'ugly sister' Edith in Still Game and baddie Theresa O'Hara in River City. Carr is also co-founder of female comedy troupe, Witsherface, director of one-woman show, Rose, and recently appeared in the Citizens Theatre production, Fibres.

She will be joined by Michael Guest, familiar to Citizens audiences who saw his 'heartfelt' (Reviewshub) performance as Bob Cratchit in the 2021 Citizens Theatre production of A Christmas Carol and his 'remarkable' (The Scotsman) performance in The Comedy of Errors (Citizens Theatre) and actor/musician Samuel Pashby who has appeared in Citizens Theatre shows The Comedy of Errors, A Christmas Carol and Cyrano de Bergerac.

Completing the cast is Francesca Hess and Cindy Awor, who will take on the titular role of Red. Hess and Awor are the Citizens Theatre's 2022 Graduate Actors. As part of the theatre's commitment to nurturing new talent, the scheme, which is supported by the Ernst Maas Educational Trust and the Garrick Charitable Trust, has given many of Scotland's best up-and-coming actors their first career opportunities.

In addition to welcoming school children from across Glasgow to the production, the Citizens Theatre is working with Primary 7 pupils in the two Gorbals Primary schools - Blackfriars and St Francis Primary School - to create a special curtain raiser performance. Primary 7 pupils from each school will perform to an audience of their school peers ahead of watching a performance of Red Riding Hood together. The two events will involve over 600 young people and is part of an 8-month creative residency in the schools. Tickets to allow the wider school community to attend are supported by the Pay It Forward scheme.

The Gorbals Primary Schools residency is part of a new community engagement programme focussed on building connections with Gorbals and Southside neighbours as the company makes its journey 'home' to 119 Gorbals Street and celebrates the reopening of the new Citizens Theatre in 2024.

The Citizens Theatre remains committed to affordability and accessibility with family tickets and a range of concessions, including £5 tickets for Gorbals Card holders and the unemployed. Accessible performances, including audio description, BSL interpretation, captioned and a relaxed performance are also available.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 12 October at 10am and are available to purchase from the Citizens Theatre's website citz.co.uk or by calling Box Office on 0141 429 0022 (open Tuesday - Thursday 10am - 4pm).

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