There’s no wolf at all, just a sister and brother having a sleepover in whiskery Grandma’s attic and tormenting each other as siblings do. It’s a beautifully slow and measured start, eliciting the kind of infectious giggles in the dark that you only get with a very young audience. The two (Nicola Blake and Samuel Wells) enact the fairy tale in an inventive and childlike way, using little more than the clothes from Grandma’s wardrobe and some ancient tennis rackets.

Yet it’s magic too. Wardrobe and walls that appeared solid turn out to be gauze, to create an enchanted and shadowy forest. Snow falls at the end. The boyish Wells turns himself into a Welsh woodcutter and a querulous Grandma with a flavour of Alan Bennett about her. Blake sings Julian Butler’s syncopated music without any artifice, in a clear and comic telling of the story that the children will remember all their lives.

Nottingham Post, Monday 12 December 2011 (Martin Cooper)
IF you are tempted to go down to the deep, dark wood at the Lakeside Arts Centre you’re sure to be in for a very big surprise.

The centre’s hosting of the premiere of a new adaptation of the traditional and much-loved children’s fairytale Red Riding Hood succeeds in charming adults, who are big kids at heart, and little kids alike.
Only two actors take the stage, playing all the key roles; sweet-voiced Nicola Blake as Bridget and Samuel Wells as the highly animated Stephen.

Writer Mike Kenny gives the old story an original twist. When a sister and brother can’t settle down to sleep at their grandmother’s house they begin to act out their favourite old story.

The pair become embroiled in a fantastic fairytale and the cosy attic bedroom transforms into a deep, dark wood … the shadowy lair of the lurking Mr Wolf.

Stephen also takes on the role of Grandma, with dodgy back, chest and knees, as well as Red Riding Hood, while Nicola also plays the big bad Wolf. They do so with style and panache in a production laced with simple, lively songs and dances which are pleasing to the ear and catch the eye.

The action takes place in a quaint, homely bedroom designed by Laura McEwan which is the compact centrepiece of the stage.

The show on Sunday afternoon relied on a colourful imagination on the part of the audience in some scenes, but it still managed to maintain most of the interest of the very youngest children for much of the time through dramatic movement and the changes in Richard Statham’s subtle and sophisticated lighting.

Red Riding Hood, an unusual, imaginative Christmas treat to warm the heart.

Left Lion, Monday 12 December 2011 (Ian Douglas)
If the little ones are not yet big enough to sit through this year’s panto blockbusters, this nifty hour-long performance may be just the thing. Award-winning writer and director Mike Kenny conjures up an enchanting take on an old classic.

Bridget and Stephen are on a sleepover at their grandmother’s house. But the thought of Granny’s donuts in the kitchen is keeping them awake. So Bridget decides to tell her younger brother the tale of Red Riding Hood to pass the time. Soon they are acting out the characters, aided by the dressing up chest and a few battered old toys. The line between what is real and what is imagination starts to blur. The two children find themselves deep in the dark wood, with a ravenous wolf on their scent.

This production hits the note perfectly. The audience of small children seemed spellbound throughout. Even the eleven-year-old keeping this reviewer company was chortling at the jokes. Two actors, Sam Wells and Nicola Blake, play all the roles and both do a smashing job of regressing to childhood. They bring Stephen and Bridget to life, without any hint of the adult knowingness we often see in modern pantomime. Indeed the entire play rang with a childlike innocence.

The songs are catchy with an instant hum-along quality, so full marks to musical director Julian Butler. There were even a few dance routines, nimbly performed by Sam and Nicola. The set was evocative while economical, and the lighting conjured up a sense of the mysterious and forbidding forest.
Don’t worry about getting there too early. Outside the auditorium is an installation by Hayden Primary School, where youngsters can go on their own imaginative journey into the wood and Grandma’s house, complete with red riding cloaks.

Theatreworld Internet Magazine, Monday 19 December 2011 (Elaine Peel)
Lakeside Arts Centre in the University of Nottingham is very good at catering for the  needs of its younger theatregoers, with Red Riding Hood being this year’s seasonal offering for the 4+ audiences.  Mike Kenny has taken the traditional  tale and given it a subtle twist. Two children are staying at Grandma’s and have  just been tucked up into bed in the attic. Superior big sister Bridget (Nicola Blake) reluctantly agrees to tell pesky little brother  Stephen (Samuel Wells) the familiar tale in the hopes of getting him to settle  down to sleep. To help, they discover a range of old clothes in the creaky  wardrobe which they rapidly appropriate to transform themselves into the fairytale’s major characters – mother, grandma, the wolf,  the woodman and, of course, Red Riding Hood.

Alongside  the traditional tale is another familiar story – the antics of the two siblings,  their relationship, the antagonism, the bickering and the fun that all go into the melting pot of being a brother and sister. This aspect of the play transforms it into a quite different drama from a simple ‘Red Riding Hood’ and  one which – to get the most out of the play – requires more maturity than that possessed by the average 4 year old.

Laura McKewen has created a beautiful set, an intimate attic  bedroom with wooden beams and cosy props – the quilt on the bed, the crocheted throw on the chair, old-fashioned lights and walls which we see through to reveal a magical wood with a big coloured moon. This is all supported by Richard Statham’s dramatic lighting adding particularly to the scary bits of the tale. The
theatre itself is intimate, a good size for children with excellent rake for visibility.

Some things work extremely well. At the beginning Stephen plays with his torch, making shadow puppets on the wall. This really caught the imagination of the very young audience this afternoon. The songs, written by composer Julian Butler (of Charlie and Lola fame), brought the show to life with their swinging syncopation and tuneful repetition. Both actors communicated enjoyment in what they were doing, with their diction and singing coming across really clearly.

The running time of 50 minutes is just right for young children and of course the cost is linked to this so it’s very affordable for families at this time. An extra bonus created by a local school is an imaginative play area in the foyer: a bedroom and a cottage with plenty of props for the youngsters to try a hand at acting out the story for themselves. Pop in any time of the day to have a coffee and to let the children have a good play!!

World Premiere production at Lakeside and UK tour spring 2012.

Once upon a time there was a young girl who went to spend the night at Grandma’s
house…….and her little brother came too!  She just wanted to go to sleep but he was having none of it and just wouldn’t settle down. Grandma’s attic is far too exciting for sleeping! And when you start acting out your favourite fairytale who knows what’s in store?

Join the intrepid twosome on a night to remember in Olivier award winning writer Mike Kenny’s brand new adaptation of the classic children’s tale. With music and songs from Julian Butler (Charlie and Lola), this premiere production from Engine House and Lakeside promises to be a magical treat for children aged 4+ and their families.

Director: Matt Aston
Musical Director / Composer: Julian Butler
Designer: Laura McEwen
Lighting Designer: Richard Statham
Movement Director: Claire Cunningham
Associate Designer: Dean Sudron

Lakeside Arts Centre
8 – 31 December 2011
Tickets: 0115 846 7777

UK Tour supported by Arts Council England

Jacksons Lane
Wed 15 – Sun 19 February
Tickets: 020 8341 4421

The Brindley
Fri 2 March
Tickets: 0151 907 8360

Brewery Arts Centre
Sat 3 March
Tickets: 01539 725133

The Point
Sat 10 March
Tickets: 023 8065 2333

The Albany
Sun 11 March
Tickets: 020 8692 4446

Waterside Arts Centre
Sat 17 March
Tickets: 0161 912 5616

New Wolsey Theatre
Sat 24 March
Tickets: 01473 295 900

Cornerstone
Sun 1 April
Tickets: 01235 515 144

Greenwich Theatre
Tues 10 April
Tickets: 020 8858 7755

Lincoln Drill Hall
Thurs 12 April
Tickets: 01522 873894

Lakeside Arts Centre
Sat 14 & Sun 15 April
Tickets: 0115 846 7777

Arts Depot
Sun 22 April
Tickets: 020 8369 5454

We look forward to sharing news as this project develops.

Guardian, Thursday 14 April 2011 (Alfred Hickling)
It is almost 20 years since the first appearance of the play that, as Michael Billington wrote, “enflamed passions and divided partners”. When it was new, David Mamet’s two-hander seemed to recast Educating Rita for the era of political correctness. Two decades on, the social and sexual landscape it describes has completely altered.

If Mamet’s play has the power of prophecy, it has slightly diminished as drama. Simply put, the scales are no longer even. In the original production, the unctuous male academic seemed as much a victim of circumstance as his passive-aggressive female student. Yet today, for someone in a position of authority to make physical contact without expecting disciplinary action seems culpable or, at best, naive.

The play is further rooted to its period by the reliance on an inopportunely ringing phone, which Mamet practically incorporates as a third character. Today, there would simply be a stack of voicemails to deal with once the tutorial was over. What has not dated, however, is the brilliant verbal jousting. It snaps back and forth, in Matt Aston’s production for new Midlands-based touring company Engine House, with the exhilarating beauty of skilled baseline players locked in a long, attritional tennis rally.

The opening exchanges are the best: Clare Foster’s cheeks burn and glisten with tears of frustration as Alistair McGowan drapes smug condescension round her like a suffocating blanket. Would his character really expect to go unchallenged about referring to a committee that includes women as “good men and true”? Either way, McGowan and Foster strike me as a lovely pair of blokes.

Nottingham Post, Wednesday 13 April (Alan Geary)
FROM start to finish of an uninterrupted hour and twenty-five minutes, this Oleanna is an entirely compelling production

When Alistair McGowan (John) says, “I have an interest in the status quo. Everyone does”, he indicates the audience. It’s a good idea. But as a device for ensuring our concentration it’s superfluous: we’re already heavily involved in proceedings.

It’s not simply a matter of a couple of stunning performances from McGowan and Clare Foster (Carol) – for stunning they are. The audience is treated to a deadly power struggle between two utterly realistic and believable characters in a play of astonishing thematic and textual complexity.

At a US college in the early nineties – all the way down to a dusty spider plant, it’s a brilliantly observed academic office set – a foundering student has come to her professor for help.

But by near the end, when depending on your interpretation there is or is not a twist in the tail, the power relationship has been turned on its head; on the strength of her allegations of academic and sexual misconduct, he’s about to be out of a job.

McGowan makes his man a professional carer and sharer of a lecturer; but he’s also a pompous hypocrite, pretending to be student-centred but actually self-centred.

Foster’s student is inadequate and vulnerable but wily and ruthless as well. These are performances of depth which make you care about two people, as people.

Along the way – the play’s not simply a polemic – there’s an examination of political correctness, feminism, the assumptions surrounding higher education, and much more. We’re forced to look at the issue of self-image, indeed the whole concept of Self.

Dialogue is uncannily true to life. It’s jagged and chopped up. Snatches of speech overlap with others, and the characters talk to one another without connecting or properly engaging.

She’s struggling to articulate or to understand words which to him are basic; he’s using speech to confuse, impress and intimidate rather than to convey information.

It’s hardly a help that, concurrently with his conversations with Carol, John is unwillingly on the phone with his wife over a problematic house purchase – real estate transactions seem be a preoccupation with writer David Mamet, hence the otherwise obscure title Oleanna.

This is directed, in association with the Lakeside Arts Centre, by Matt Aston for his new company, Engine House. It’s their first production. And it’s a winner.

What’s On Stage, 13 May 2011 (Nick Brunger)“Whichever side you take, you’re wrong” was the original tag line for Oleanna, David Mamet’s exploration of the power struggle between John, a university professor and Carol, a student who accuses him of sexual harassment.

Struggling with the complexity of the course, Carol turns to John for guidance but finds herself increasingly bewildered by his convoluted academic language and intellectual double-speak. His clumsy and patronising attempts to offer help are misinterpreted by the student who accuses him of assault and, eventually, rape.

Faced with a ruined career John’s frustration over the accusations made against him spills over into a climatic act of violence which leaves the audience in no doubt who is the ultimate victor.

Clare Foster’s Carol makes the tricky transition from vulnerable co-ed to arrogant accuser with complete conviction, yet Alistair McGowan as John somehow fails to convince as a creditable potential predator. He is just a little too diffident to make his hinted “darker side” seem credible, with little real hint of menace or genuine sexual power play. As a result he wins the sympathy of the audience diluting Mamet’s contention that “the corruption is on both sides” leaving us with little doubt as to who is the villain of the piece.

Yet Matt Aston’s accomplished direction still made the by-play between the two protagonists acute in its accuracy and left many in the audience debating the issues raised by this still powerful play long after the house lights had gone up.

Theatreworld , Wednesday 13 April (Elaine Peel)
We’re almost 20 years on from the first production in Cambridge, Massachusetts of David Mamet’s controversial play, Oleanna, inspired by the legal battle between Anita Hill, a university law professor, and her former colleague and supervisor, Justice Clarence Thomas. The charge of sexual harrassment and abuse of power brought then is brought once again by Carol, Mamet’s initially diffident and tongue tied student, against John, her professor and tutor. Times have changed but the power of the drama, particularly within this university theatre in Nottingham, remains fully charged.

Always good to grab your audience from the onset as Matt Aston, director, and designer, Laura McEwen, do from the word go. The action on stage has begun by the time we enter the auditorium. Carol (Clare Foster) sits silently and nervously. John (Alistair McGowen), her teacher, fully engrossed on the phone, ignores her. The set, John’s study, reduces the stage area by half, creating a strong focus on the actors, ironically so near physically and yet so far apart in understanding, empathy and communication. The physical claustrophobia suggests we’ll be going nowhere fast.

In 90 minutes, three scenes, and no interval we follow the story of the student who comes for help with her course work, of the teacher who attempts ineptly, condescendingly and inappropriately to do so and of the charges and subsequent demise of one/ both of them in the process. It’s a very clever play in which every word, spoken and unspoken, is vital. Mamet gives us a variety of possibilities from which we can judge. Is this student really ‘so stupid’? Is her teacher so unaware? Is the situation a set up? Why is neither of them capable of listening? Undoubtedly these are traps that both parties would be much more aware of guarding against today. Think of assessments for teaching competence, the need for observers in vulnerable situations, not to mention training sessions to guard against discrimination. But you can’t risk proof life and human nature so that Mamet’s essential drama keeps its full relevance.

It’s a big ask of the two actors. Alistair McGowen describes the role as ‘ genuinely the hardest thing I’ve done’. He says that he and Clare feel nervous before every performance. The lines are complicated, often truncated, making little sense and not easily memorable, their main purpose being to show a lack of communication. Small movement is important. I liked Foster’s portrayal of the nervous student – facial expression and bodily twitchings, McGowen likewise, with his powerful spreading gestures indicating supremacy and control, and then, of course, Mamet’s all action twist at the end, leaving the audience stunned. Indeed the audience were incredibly focused – not a cough or sigh, so totally bound up in the situation were they and listening intently to every nuance and word. Damian Coldwell’s forboding music and sounds only confirmed the sense of doom.

So here’s a chance for Nottingham audiences to catch what can be described as one of Mamet’s most controversial plays, extremely well acted and produced and also well supported by what Lakeside describes as ‘contextualising events’ – 4 free discussion/lecture sessions to further explore the play. See www.lakesidearts.org.uk for more information

Left Lion, Friday 15 April 2011 (Adrian Bhagat)
Alistair McGowan, the comedian, impressionist and serious actor, takes on the role of a university lecturer in David Mamet’s play about language, political correctness and power. The play begins in the office of John, a lecturer, who is talking loudly on the phone leaving Carol, a student, waiting silently. As the supervision begins we learn that Carol, played by Clare Foster, is clearly struggling and out of her depth on the course. She is desperate to pass but she seems unable to understand the concepts and her anxiety hinders her further.

In contrast, John is perfectly at ease in his own environment. His calm self-satisfaction make Carol seem shrill in comparison giving him the opportunity to be patronising to her. From his position of power, John mocks the value of education, which shocks and offends Carol to whom education is very important. John attempts to find common ground between them but this falls flat and the yawning gap between their situations becomes more apparent. The dialogue becomes splintered as sentences are left unfinished and each protagonist seems to be part of a separate conversation.

An act that may or may not be sexual harassment leads Carol to bring a complaint against John. She apparently uses the raw facts of the event out of context to create a misleading impression. As the complaint is investigated it is John who now appears out of his depth as he fails to understand new unwritten rules of conduct and behaviour. He begins to look like a dinosaur and the failings of his character undermine him. As she gets the upper hand, Carol presses the dispute further, threatening John’s career and family life.

Many people will see John as the victim of this story, but this wasn’t the intention of writer David Mamet. We are lead to question whether Carol’s grievance is justified – does she genuinely believe that John was at fault or is she just using political correctness as a weapon? You could see this play as praise for the ability of rules in a society to undermine authority and overturn privilege.

Having seen this play produced a few years ago, I remember having more sympathy for Carol but this time I found it hard not to take John’s side. I’m not sure if the difference is due to the production or just that I’m getting old. It’s true that neither of them as particularly sympathetic characters but regardless of which side you take, this is a very powerful piece of theatre, excellently directed by Matt Aston and flawlessly acted.

Engine House and Lakeside commissioned a new adaptation of the classic tale from award winning young peoples writer Mike Kenny. The production which premiere’s at Lakeside’s Djanogly Theatre on 8 December, running through to 31 December will now tour to a range of venues in early Spring 2012 thanks to support from Arts Council England.

Venues include:

Jacksons Lane
Wed 15 – Sun 19 February
Tickets: 020 8341 4421

The Brindley
Fri 2 March
Tickets: 0151 907 8360

Brewery Arts Centre
Sat 3 March
Tickets: 01539 725133

The Point
Sat 10 March
Tickets: 023 8065 2333

The Albany
Sun 11 March
Tickets: 020 8692 4446

Waterside Arts Centre
Sat 17 March
Tickets: 0161 912 5616

New Wolsey Theatre
Sat 24 March
Tickets: 01473 295 900

Cornerstone
Sun 1 April
Tickets: 01235 515 144

Greenwich Theatre
Tues 10 April
Tickets: 020 8858 7755

Lincoln Drill Hall
Thurs 12 April
Tickets: 01522 873894

Lakeside Arts Centre
Sat 14 & Sun 15 April
Tickets: 0115 846 7777

Arts Depot
Sun 22 April
Tickets: 020 8369 5454

Produced at Lakeside in 2009, Mike Kenny’s stage adaptation of Jeff Brown’s children’s best seller was brought to life on stage by director Matt Aston and the team behind this year’s Red Riding Hood.

Engine House look forward to reviving this production in the future. For further details please email info@enginehousetheatre.com.

Set Designer Laura McEwen
Lighting Designer Ciaran Bagnall
Musical Director Julian Butler
Choreographer Claire Cunningham

Reviews from the 2009 production include:

Nottingham Evening Post, Monday 30 November 2009 (Rob Wandsworth)
LAKESIDE is carving out a reputation for family shows that prove there’s life beyond panto at Christmas. Following last year’s The Happy Prince and the 2007 production of We’re Going On a Bear Hunt, the theatre again turns to a classic children’s book for inspiration. This time it’s Flat Stanley. Lakeside’s sixth Christmas show, based on the 1964 book by Jeff Brown, is possibly the most fun yet.

The tale of Stanley Lambchop, the boy who’s four feet tall but only half-an-inch thick, makes for a colourful and exuberant show. Our two-dimensional hero – flattened in his bed by a falling board – is brought to life by an engaging performance from Richard Dale in a “flat suit”.

Stanley discovers it’s not all bad being flat – he can slide under doors, makes a great kite and can even post himself to California for a holiday. His adventures are wittily realised thanks to a colourful set, light-projections and Julian Butler’s infectious score. The story is easy to follow for pre-schoolers but catchy songs and wry humour will hold the attention of older children, too.

Flat Stanley is an inspired choice for a festive family show. Keep it up, Lakeside, you’ve become as much a Christmas fixture as any panto.

The Stage, Thursday 3 December 2009 (Pat Ashworth)
Small children love the adventures of Stanley Lambchop, the boy who got flattened by a bulletin board in his sleep and ended up just half an inch thick. Mike Kenny’s adaptation sets the story in its 1964 context and makes it big, zany and very ‘American Dream’, with a frilly housewife frying eggs and asking: “Sunny side up, dear?”
It’s almost cartoonish at times, on a simple and colourful set, and with the story threads brought together in song and dance. Richard Dale rises to the considerable challenges of playing Stanley, limited largely to sideways and backwards movement in his strapped-on cardboard Stanley. Projected images and other devices are cunningly blended where the character needs to slip down a grating or under a door.
The four actors play everything from a lisping gallery curator to a careless doctor and a pair of cops straight out of Top Cat. It’s very jolly, particularly the scene in the portrait gallery where Stanley poses as a shepherdess and foils the dastardly robber. But the production also brings out the jealousy and isolation of Stanley’s brother Arthur, hunched in his dungarees and crying: “It’s not fair.” All is resolved in a fun finale.