"Little Red Riding Hood" brings local cheer to Liverpool

The Actors Studio are bringing Little Red Riding Hood to Liverpool this Christmas. This family alternative to pantomime will run from 3 – 21 December.

Leading the cast is Gemma Broderick as Red, the feisty heroine who thinks that being the best is more important than doing your best. Liverpool local Broderick graduated from the famous Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and already has a huge array of stage successes behind her, including Polly Nichols in the original cast of RIP The Musical, and the title role in Sleeping Beauty at Liverpool Echo Arena in 2012. After her role as Red this Christmas she is set to star alongside Crissy Rock in the brand new comedy Escorts The Musical, which opens at St Helens Theatre Royal in April 2014.

Joining Broderick as Delilah, Red's pushy, scouse, madcap mum, is Liverpool Actors Studio regular Catherine Rice. Since training at The Liverpool Theatre School she has appeared in numerous theatre productions including The Gingerbread Man and Teechers both at The Liverpool Actors Studio and Da Boyz written by Carol Cullington and directed by Ruth Ben-Tovin in collaboration with Phil Redmond and Jimmy McGovern. Rice also co-wrote Justine and Tony, which was performed at 2012's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and in addition is also executive director of English Rice Productions at The Liverpool Actors Studio.

Fresh off a hugely successful run in the title role of Othello for Trickster Theatre at The Kazimer, Leroy Liburd is starring as Doris, Red's new age hippy healing Gran who can balance your chakras, heal your aura and loves QVC. Since training at East 15 Acting School, Liburd has vast theatre and TV credits including Sinbad in Sinbad The Untold Tale at Keswick Theatre by the Lake, Sweet Peter in Young Europe at Company of Angels, London, Torchwood and Holby City.

Rounding off the cast and also doubling as director of this production, Barrie Ryan English is Wilf the Wolf, a scare school drop-out and the big bad baddie! Training at The Oldham Theatre Workshop and a graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, English has a wide collection of theatre, TV and film acclaim, including The Rocky Horror Show at Forum Theatre, London, Aladdin at the Oldham Coliseum, Innit at the Lowry, a UK tour of John Godber's Teechers and he also appeared in last year's production of The Gingerbread Man at The Actors Studio. He is also artistic director of English Rice Productions, based at The Liverpool Actors Studio Theatre.

Written by Karen Blick, the writer behind The Actors Studio's The Gingerbread Man, and produced by English Rice Productions & The Liverpool Actors Studio, Little Red Riding Hood is a modern day re-telling of this classic children's tale with a unique Actors Studio twist.