Irish Times writers review Little Red Riding Hodd at the the Rveryman Palace, Cork  and Charlotte's Web at the Helix in Dublin.

Little Red Riding Hood

Everyman Palace, Cork

This ruthless amalgamation of fairy tales takes the normal licence of panto-scripting a little too far. Its scrambling together of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs uses the wolf - or, as one infant screamed, the werewolf - as the uniting factor, but Peadar Cox, Dominic Moore and Catherine Mahon-Buckley, its writers, also introduce into the flow of the action such distant tributaries as Medusa from one tradition and Merlin from another.

The result is best described as a mess - so bewildering that when the audience was asked who banished the snakes from Ireland one attentive child shouted "Merlin!"

At the same time, three pantos in one might be considered very good value, and this loud, cheerful, brash and ultimately meaningless piece is presented with considerable energy. Although it may have little regard for anything except the most basic expectations of pantomime - there is also a mystifying absence of purpose for a handsome pair of romantic leads - the enthusiastic young audience gave the production all the support possible.

That the children were often well ahead of the action suggests some poverty of imagination on the part of the production team, led by Mahon-Buckley, who also directs.

Runs until January 18th

Mary Leland

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Charlotte's Web

The Helix, Dublin

The Helix made a wonderful decision when it invited the talented team from Watershed Theatre Company, which staged sell-out shows of Jacqueline Wilson's Double Act last month, to mount the venue's first Christmas show.

Its production of this 1950s farmyard tale of a spider who saves a pig from ending up on the dinner table, by the American author E. B. White, is a heart-warming experience in spite of its unseasonality.

The action begins on the Arable farm when Fern (Annie Rowe) convinces her dad (Grant Stimpson) not to kill the runt of the new litter, which she names Wilbur. The pig's life is endangered again when he is moved to a barn on the Zuckermans' farm to be fattened up for the table. This time it is the clever intervention of a graceful spider, Charlotte (Norette Leahy), who saves his bacon. Spinning words on her web, she draws to the farm crowds who believe the pig (Timothy Platt) to be a genius.

Humans are only the backdrop to the real story, however, which is about the importance of giving generously of yourself and expecting no reward. This moral tale centres around Charlotte. Leahy, in a beautiful, spindly spider costume, portrays the natural grace and equanimity of a female spider about to die once she lays her eggs. Platt, dressed in pale-pink dungarees with a curly tail and piggy-eared peaked cap, is convincing as a simple pig.

Convincing too are Kevin James, as an arthritic old sheep bleating out his lines, and Annie Rowe, as a goose strutting about in her fluffed-up costume. But the star of the show is Grant Stimpson as Templeton the rat. He embodies the gutter-loving creature, with backward-rolling eyes, a drooling tongue and gauche twists of his arms and legs at the sight of every meal.

Chris Wallis, the director, and Watershed deserve high praise for their intelligent approach to children's theatre: nothing is compromised for younger audiences, and the costume, set, lighting and, most of all, acting are of the highest standard. There is no need for patronising nods and winks when you can sustain children's interest with a good story performed with passion and dedication to detail.

Runs until January 4th

Sylvia Thompson