Film & Theatre, Reviews | Posted on January 26th, 2026 | return to news

Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs: Babe in the Hood

Castle Players, Lytchett Matravers Village Hall

Review by Marilyn Barber | newseditor@dorsetview.co.uk

The clue is in the title. This is a production like no other. A mash-up of several popular stories, it is a truly village panto with Lytchett references that brought knowing laughter from the audience, together with a topical Greenland one.

There is no dame, but two principal baddies and, quite simply, it’s a whole lot of fun.

Written and directed by member of the company, Phil McMullen, the story revolves around dodgy builders and their demolition plans.

Dominating many scenes is the Big Bad Wolf, played with a lot of pizzazz by Becki Dawson, who certainly manages to elicit lots of boos and hisses.

Her interaction with Sellit, a local tycoon played by Beverley Smith, works well, and her sidekicks Bodgeit (Sharon White) and Makedo (Nikki Cross) add a huge amount of humour.

The same can be said for the other comedy duo, Jim (Linsey O’Neill) and Bob (Kim Burdon-Thompson), who deliver plenty of chaos.

Making a rather good debut with the Castle Players as the Witch is Susan Boakes, who combines humour with the right level of malevolence.

Jasmine Lloyd is suitably sweet as Little Red Riding Hood, teaming well with Deborah Hornsby as Robin.

The three little pigs, Porker (Ella Burdon), Gruntling (Sarah Peacock) and Babe (Charlotte Haworth), add fun and pathos, with the latter, the youngest cast member, putting in a very skilled performance.

Val Holland’s timing is good as Grandma, with Pete Bennett perfecting the role as the meticulous health and safety officer.

And then there is poor little Oopsie (Sophie Brackenborough), whose part requires her to turn up at intervals dressed in an outfit from the wrong pantomime!

Completing the 17-strong cast are Ashley Pires as Hansel and Mollie Burden as Gretel.

It’s a personal thing, but for me, this excellent production would have been further enhanced by scenery, as there was very little.

There is still time to see this panto, as there are performances next weekend on 30 and 31 January at 7.30pm, with a matinee on the Saturday. Tickets are available via castleplayers.com/tickets or 07771 444376.