A new theatre company – AG Theatre – has given us a delicious twist or two on an age-old story (the fable dates back to the 1800s).
The 3 Little Pigs is a children’s musical featuring piglets Bar (Ben Hamilton), Bee (Isabelle Davis) and Q (Zak Vasiliou). Get it? Barbecue!
And let’s be honest, if not for Q building a house of bricks, the trio would be roast pork.
Photos by Nicole Cleary
An important character in this adaptation is Mother Pig.
As the story goes, Father Pig was eaten by the Big Bad Wolf a year ago, but the fearsome predator hasn’t been seen since.
Mother Pig thinks it is time her three piglets learnt to stand on their own four hooves, so she dispatches them to do just that – to build their homes and make good.
They prevail upon a local merchant for the material, straw for Bee, sticks for Bar and, as already mentioned, bricks for Q.
Of course, this is just the time that the BBW decides to reappear and with very little huffing and puffing on his part, Bee and Bar are scrambling for cover.
But in keeping with the family theme, it is only a matter of when the wolf will get what is coming to him.
And, of course, the pigs and their mum will live happily ever after.
With music by George Styles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, The 3 Little Pigs provides humour, hijinks, song and dance to engage a young audience.
The cheerful songs and deft steps (choreography is by Louise Panagiotidis) are backed by dialogue that moves along the storyline.
With strong, clear vocals, the cast does a fine job with the material.
Evocative costuming by Karen Spencer is matched by colourful sets from Abbey Stanway.
I particularly liked the pigs three houses. Not surprisingly, brick was my fancy.
Max Woods’ lighting reaches its high point when the bad boy of the piece meets his fate, while Noah Chtapot’s sound design is potent.
Director Tahra Cannon breathes new life into a tale of ingenuity and resilience.
The 3 Little Pigs is on at the National Theatre until 29th December, 2024.
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