HAVE you ever seen a riddle wrapped inside an enigma? A conundrum without any clues?

Then you have not seen Little Angel Theatre presents Red Riding Hood and the Wolf as written by Jon Barton.

This is a play which offers a different point of view to as it states 'the party line' about Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

It is seeing a fairytale world turned upside down, an image of what you thought you knew but there are subtle changes, a kind of Bizarro world where everything which happens is the opposite of life on Earth.

For this multi-layered presentation of a well known fairytale, we receive a lesson with a twist of lemon as a myth is busted. Take what you know about Red Riding Hood and the Wolf and for this play forget everything.

In this version we see a gentle wolf with a broken heart. A wolf who isn't bad, in fact he's rather shy.

He won't gobble up Grandma or Red Riding Hood it is in fact the other way around-where Grandma and Red Riding Hood want to eat the wolf.

The story unfolds like a piece of elaborate origami, as we hear and see Robyn (Charlotte Croft) who is a child in her bedroom tell us the tale using a toy wolf, a doll which looks like Red Riding Hood and an array of items to depict the other characters.

There was a charm and simplicity-a child like naivety to it all, but this was part of its magic, the fairy dust which held it all together.

The play was akin to Jackanory meets Crackanory-there was something for the children and the adults. Subtle references which the adults could enjoy while the children enjoyed the story.

This was a perfect Sunday (March 11) afternoon tale.

As the rain pelted down onto the roof of the Tacchi-Morris, we (the audience) were dry inside listening to the pitter patter of the words falling down as each one lead us further forward in the story.

Full marks to Charlotte Croft for creating magic in the stage lights in what is a one woman performance. Credit to Little Angel Theatre for having such an incisive imagination to produce this play.