Red Riding Hood reimagined for new stage production at Rua Red
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A theatre ensemble for adults living with disabilities took to the Rua Red stage this month in a full-length production of ‘Can’t See the Woods for the Trees’, which reimagined the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.
The Doors to Elsewhere Ensemble’s interpretation of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ looks at their perception that the adults who are involved lose awareness of the child, and instead blame each other for the child’s disappearance without actually looking for her.
The performance, which finished up this weekend, featured a cast of 20, with dance, acting and multimedia elements.
Director Jenny MacDonald told The Echo: “The ensemble [was] really nervous but they’re also excited.
“I think it’s going to be challenging for them, but really exciting too.”
The ensemble, which is a Tallaght Community Arts initiative, has been steadily growing since it was first set up seven years ago, and Jenny explained that the ensemble’s performances have a big impact on the participants.
“After each show, you see the pride they have in their work being seen and acknowledged,” she said, “and it gives them a fresh confidence.”
“In the workshops, we notice that their range of movement and vocal capacity expands and that there’s a different energy.”
The last performances of ‘Can’t See the Woods for the Trees’ were held on January 25 and 26 in the Rua Red county arts centre in Tallaght.
This weekend, there was also an installation in Rua Red’s Gallery 1 of elements from the ensemble’s performance.
In the past, the ensemble’s work has been inspired by mythology and fairy tales and, for the 1916 Centenary, they explored what life would be like in a just Republic, both in the past and the present.
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