“Terrible posture!” the terrifying Mrs Slighcarp barks at an unsuspecting audience member, as we wait to enter this charming depiction of Joan Aiken’s children’s classic, ‘The Wolves of Willoughby Chase’. If, like me, you’ve never come across Aiken before, think Lemony Snicket with a happy ending. In fact, never having read the novel didn’t matter, as the cast did a stellar job of relaying it through some good old-fashioned storytelling. It’s a cracker of a story in which two cousins face the ultimate childhood evil of a grown-up in charge: the monstrous Mrs Slighcarp. Somewhat disappointingly, points in the performance were a little lacklustre and the small audience became impatient as lines were occasionally a little fumbled. Better posture needed, perhaps.

C soco, 3 – 29 Aug, 5:20pm (6:35pm), £5.50 – £9.50, fpp30.
tw rating 3/5
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