RED RIDING Hood had a tragic start in life after her parents were killed by bandits trying to find a hoard of gold.

But all is happy for little Red as the curtains open on this year’s pantomime from Sutton’s Green Hut Theatre Company. She’s amongst friends in the Wild West town of Redwood where she’s been brought up by local saloon owner Lady and grizzled old sheriff Earl.

But Red’s cosy life is about to change, as the Big Bad Wolf is back with his Wolf Pack to hunt down the gold once and for all. And as Red Riding Hood sets off to the woods to see her dear old grannie, pursued by the Wolf, the age-old fairytale plays out just like it always has.

The Green Hut’s panto adaptation of the classic story is set against a backdrop of the Old West but the production team promise that traditional elements are present and correct. The five performances, with a cast of children and adults, will see knockabout comedy, true love, headlong adventure, a couple of dastardly villains, and a mix of traditional and modern songs and dances.

Red Riding Hood will be staged at Sutton Village Hall from Wednesday to Saturday, December 6 to 9, at 7.15pm. There will also be a Saturday matinee at 2.15pm. Call 01535 632289 to book tickets.

Soon after the pantomime ends, the Green Hut Theatre Company will begin rehearsals for their spring musical Oliver! which portrays Charles Dickens’s classic story of runaway orphan Oliver Twist.

Lionel Bart’s show, famously filmed in the 1960s, features songs such as Food Glorious Food, Oom-Pah-Pah, Consider Yourself, I’d Do Anything and You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.

As usual Oliver! needs a large contingent of children to play both orphans and Fagin’s gang of pickpockets, and places are still available in the cast for rehearsals beginning in January.

Green Hut’s various activities, which also include a Tuesday fortnightly Youth Theatre, take place at the green hut on land off Main Street behind the Costcutters mini-market.

Email suttongreenhutheatre@gmail.com or call 07897 247733 for details of how to join the Oliver! cast.