REVIEW: Little Red Hood 小红帽

Little Red Riding Hood is certainly a familiar tale in many households being as well known as it is. But watching it in Mandarin and with some modern twists to the story? That’s certainly something of a different experience which the kiddo and I had a chance to preview, 2 weekends back!  

:: The story

The play starts with Little Red’s family running a cake business – 甜心蛋糕屋. Business was thriving and the family, happy. Little Red’s father would deliver cakes to “Grandma” from time to time until one day, Little Red’s father did not return after leaving one such afternoon and this is where the adventure unfolds…

Little Red was well played as the actress exuded the same sense curiosity and the bubbly personality I’d imagine the storybook character to have. Along the way, she met Wolf (好狼, who pretended to be kind) and later, Woodcutter. Like the story, Little Red unwittingly gave away Grandma’s address to the cunning wolf. However, unlike the original story, the woodcutter is a bit “Dory-like” (as Dumpling puts it) because he seems to have short term memory loss hence he brings along a HUGE journal which he documents people he met and experiences he had along the way as a reference point.

The play had many funny and interactive moments which had the audiences shouting away. The wolf, though sly, did not appear scary but instead, I found myself laughing at his antics (and his smooth dance moves I must add ~ just look at the photo below!)

The story becomes interesting as we see an unlikely hero in Woodcutter when he and Red pair up to save the day… So what happened to Grandma and who, exactly was the wolf?

:: What we like about the play

Compared with Nightingale, this Mandarin play I feel; is a lot more suitable for younger children. Perhaps it is because it is such a popular fairy that it is easily understood even with younger children. As the entire play is in Mandarin, it is a good way for children to grasp and be exposed to the language in a fun and interactive manner. The songs were quite catchy and the famous lines were also translated "smoothly" to Mandarin which had the children in the rows in front of me, repeating them. 

Idioms and "strong" vocabulary were used during the play (一落千丈、吃盐多过吃米), which I feel, for the older children such as Dumpling who is in Primary 3 this year would gave them a more in-depth perspective on how these 成语/好词好句 can be used in her descriptions and compositions. 

I got Dumpling to add on her thoughts in Chinese for this review too:

“我觉得这部戏剧很有趣也很好笑。老狼这个角色扮演得很真实。这个故事教了我们应该听父母的话，不应该和陌生人谈天也不要太容易相信他们。”

Keen to catch the play and introduce Mandarin to your children in a fun way? Here's the event details:

Event Date

Thu, 20 Jul - Fri, 1 Sep 2017

Weekdays: 10am
Weekend & Public Holiday: 11am & 2pm
 

Venue

KC Arts Centre - Home of SRT

You can purchase tickets here

Disclaimer: We were invited to watch the play by Singapore Repertory Theatre so that we can give our opinions on it. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

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