RED RIDING HOOD AND THE BIG BAD PIG

JW3 Chanukah Pantomime
December 2023 - January 2024
2 x Offie Nominated (Best Panto Performance + Best Musical Director)

Photography by Jane Hobson

This production saw unprecedented press and media attention in the lead into the project, from multiple newspapers and publications (incl. The Times, The Telegraph, Guardian, Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, Time Out, Jewish Renaissance) and two Offie nominations in recognition of our success (Best Panto Performance and Best Musical Director).

The Times
“Getting to be silly and joyful and Jewish feels extra special at a time like this”

The Telegraph
‘It is all about joy and peace – not politics’: inside the first professional Jewish panto

The Guardian
‘Humour is our biggest cultural export’: behind the scenes at a groundbreaking Jewish panto

The Jewish Chronicle
Meet the first ever kosher Big Bad Pig at JW3’s first Chanukah panto

Jewish News
‘We’ve always had faith in the panto. Oh yes we have!’

But don’t listen to them... Here’s what the audience had to say

Brilliant fun, so clever: loads of puns for the adults and plenty of slapstick for the kids. Just what you need to brighten up these dark days of winter.

This was a truly exceptional, hilarious and unique performance. A Jewish pantomime which stayed true to the panto genre but embraced Jewish humour. Fun for the whole family and so vital in these difficult times to have a space for Jewish joy.

Utter triumph! We laughed, we cried and the kids are still obsessed weeks later.

This was phenomenal: very clever and funny indeed. My son saw it with school and raved about it, so I went to see it with my daughter. What a joy.

Such a joyous laugh out loud clever and witty panto. The first ever Jewish panto is a triumph

Absolutely brilliant Jewish take on the Panto shtick- funny, clever, rude, family fun

It was such a fun night and great show. I loved being able to hear songs that I know and songs to times that are part of my tradition. I left the theatre laughing and full of joy.

Absolutely amazing show!

As somebody who works with environmental justice and has a scatological sense of humour, I thought this panto was written just for me! Between the wonderful mix of traditional Jewish and pop culture music, and the excellent audience improv and interaction, we had so much fun. I was thrilled to see the first ever Jewish panto, which I hope will be the first of many more. I hope others also take inspiration from the way this blended faith, British culture, and seasonal joy.

Absolutely loved this panto!! So funny, quirky, loved all the Jewish innuendos! I really hope they do one every year now. Our kids loved it as much as us!!

A wonderful show. Pioneering, hilarious, culturally important… amazing fun for all.

Absolutely brilliant production – so funny. Our whole family loved it. The best panto I’ve seen!

Brilliant. Full of zest, humour and intelligence.

I took my husband and sister to see this pantomime; they were both a bit sceptical about a party of three adults going, but in the event, it was one of the best events any of us had been to for some time. Pure, unadulterated fun, with marvellous acting and audience participation.

Witty, contemporary, unconventional and moving. It gave me the secret ingredient I needed this Chanimus 🙂

A brilliant panto. It kept to the best of panto tradition, while innovating with Jewish twist. The cast were all exceptional; funny and playful with the audience. Nick Cassenbaum’s script was excellent – he really understands the panto tradition. I saw it with an audience of school kids, who had the best possible introduction to theatre.

This was excellent. We took almost the whole school to see it and everyone really enjoyed it. It was clever, funny, plenty of traditional panto humour and lots for the children to be involved with it.

Such an amazing show me and my family loved every second. Marvellous acting and very funny story !!!

Enjoyed this hilariously unique Jewish pantomime. Cleverly written in true pantomime style, with slapstick and lots of puns. Came to see it wi 18 members of my family, age range 3years-83years, and we all loved it.

This was a complete joy start to end! Original and unique whilst staying in keeping with traditional panto. Wonderful Jewish humour accessible to all generations. Superb cast with equal talent in acting, singing and acrobatic action. Huge well done to all involved and thank you for bringing us so much laughter

Three generations of our family went, and we laughed non-stop from beginning to end. We’ve been quoting it and reminding each other of the best bits ever since.

Something for everyone to enjoy. A brilliant production. Can’t wait to see what this talented troupe put together for next year.

The farty lady was my favourite – Dvora age 4
I loved the grandma and her moves – Bertie age 10
Great bagels – Esther age 13
Full of joy – Becky age 43
Witty, playful, upbeat – Gareth age 48

An absolute joy for all ages and a hilarious blend of British panto and Jewish humour.

Really great show – the whole family loved it.

Totally brilliant – this captivated our whole family from our toddler through to my 70-something mum. We all loved it – creative, clever and uplifting.

Went with Grandchildren for the morning performance and they wanted to come back for the afternoon show. They loved it and it suited their ages (2 to 7) as well as their parents. Worked on so many levels.

A joyful delight that adults and kids alike loved. It took a well-known genre to a new and higher level. A brilliant production on all counts.

The absolute highlight of my Winter holidays. A brilliant production, outstanding performance and massive laugh.

I love panto and I loved this! I laughed all the way through at the adult gags, traditional panto humour mixed with Jewish references. The musical score was great and had me dancing in my seat. I’ve recommended it to everyone.

This was a fabulous show. Jokes that work for adults and children, fantastic cast who knew how best to pitch the performance. I wasn’t sure what to expect but this was better and more fun than I could have imagined. Wonderful evening.

A super fun, family-friendly, engaging panto! Humorous, topical, colourful and a good degree of audience participation. We were a multi-generational group and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Fabulous festive fun. A great panto for adults and children with a unique Jewish twist. Well done JW3. A much need joyful experience.

So joyous, funny, silly and warm hearted. We laughed constantly from start to finish. More Jewish pantos please!

Hilarious, ridiculous and at times chaotic. Great fun – even the teenagers in our group laughed the whole way through. Loved mum’s costumes!

The use of tinsel for the forest was an excellent idea – this seemingly simple set design added to the blend of traditional festive joy, British panto culture, pop music and diversity within the Jewish community.

Be great to see this reach a wider audience – the joy from watching this panto needs to be shared.

A uniquely funny, culturally rich, pun heavy, heart filling, soul healing piece of theatre and music. We couldn’t have loved it more and can’t wait until next year.

What a fantastic show. FanTASTIC performances! Excellent direction and great writing. This absolutely deserves to win awards. By the end of the first half it had ruined my eye make-up. It was utterly hilarious. A total joy of an evening. I LOVED it.