Wolfed at The RVT review: ‘Camp, clever, and completely bonkers’
This must-see Christmas panto is "chaotic, weird, and unapologetically queer, with a cast who clearly love every moment as much as the audience does," writes Attitude's Dale Fox
By Dale Fox
Wolfed at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) kicks off in the most delightfully chaotic way. Before the first line is even spoken, a wooden set piece wobbles precariously, only to be rescued by a quick-thinking punter, setting the tone for a night full of unpredictable hilarity during Attitude’s visit on a (sold-out) Friday night.
Later in the performance, another set piece starts to fall, but Ben Hutt’s Mother Hood catches it mid-performance, turning the mishap into a joke so seamless you’d think it was scripted. It’s this spontaneity that makes Wolfed feel like anything could – and actually does – happen.
With the show starting with the front row being sprinkled with glitter (of course), each cast member brings their own unique sparkle to the stage.
Katherine Leyva as Villager Number One has one of the show’s quirkiest roles, spending much of it as a door – yes, an actual door – silently wielding a wooden doorknob and delivering a masterclass in comedic timing through a spectrum of facial expressions that say more than words ever could.
Ben Hutt is everything you could want from a panto dame: cheeky, filthy, and completely in control of the room. His Mother Hood is both hilarious and outrageous, dropping the insults with razor-sharp matronly northern tones. Summer-Raine Thomas as Little Pig is a standout, bringing sass and soaring vocals to her scenes. It’s difficult to believe that Wolfed is her professional debut.
Dora Gee’s Little Red strikes a balance between innocent and smutty, skipping about the stage like a schoolgirl one moment and talking about “shaving my minge” the next, while hulking Glaswegian Robert McNeilly’s Wolfie and RVT legend Ada Campe’s Granny La Hood bring a surreal edge with a romance sub-plot. A singing duet, set to a reworked version of Chappell Roan’s Hot to Go, is one of the most bizarrely brilliant moments of the night, leaving the audience howling (and perhaps slightly aroused).
The musical numbers are all spectacular. Among them are a rework of Madonna’s Vogue and a rendition of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You, both brilliant, but the true standout is the cast’s performance of Old MacDonald Had a Farm – an unusual choice, but bear with me (pun intended – read on). The ensemble flail about together in a Fosse Amoeba-like cluster as they perform a cacophony of absurd animal noises to this children’s classic, as it becomes progressively faster and spirals into delightful chaos. It’s surreal, utterly ridiculous, and completely unforgettable.
Wolfed is everything you could want from a pantomime and more. Chaotic, weird, and unapologetically queer, with a cast who clearly love every moment as much as the audience does. Camp, clever, and completely bonkers, it’s an unmissable festive treat that will leave you laughing long after the glitter has washed out.
Wolfed runs at the RVT until 9 January. Tickets are available on the RVT website.
Wolfed Cast and Crew
Creative Team
- Writers: Paul Joseph and Tim Benzie
- Director: Tim McArthur
- Producers: James Lindsay, John Kerr, Dave Cross
- Musical Director: Annemarie Lewis-Thomas
- Stage Manager: Lysander Dove
- Costumes: Michelle Taylor
- Set Design: Jessie Huckin
- Sound and Lighting: Liam Chaplin, Demon, Jonny Morrison
- Social Media: Jason Reid
- Front of House: Pippa Dee
- Photography and Design: Chris Jepson
Cast
- Ada Campe: Granny La Hood
- Ben Hutt: Mother Hood
- Katherine Leyva: Villager Number One
- Dora Gee: Little Red
- Robert McNeilly: Wolfie
- Summer-Raine Thomas: Little Pig