★★★★

This modern musical retelling of the classic fairy tale is full of bad jokes (often aimed at adults) and a “misunderstood” wolf. With catchy tunes from This Place Is A Real Pig Sty, to The World Is Perfect For A Pig, the cast of five broke into song at every opportunity.

Written by composer George Stiles and lyricist Anthony Drew, who have been writing musicals together for over 30 years, this production was one of their trilogy of shows that includes Goldilocks and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Alex Scott Fairley was fantastic as the Big Bad Wolf, making a powerful panto-style baddie. He ran through the audience looking for piglets, calling children chicken McNuggets before belting out in song: “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down, it’s gonna feel like a hurricane in town.”

The young audience appeared more charmed than scared and happily clapped along to the songs and gasped as the straw and stick houses actually fell down around the pigs.

The scenery was well-crafted with the brick house opening up to reveal a huge cooking pot in the fireplace awaiting the unfortunate wolf. It was a definite hit with the little ones.