Theatre should be judged in its context. Ickle Pickle is essentially a community theatre. Robin Hood  is as much about teaching and giving stage experience to young performers, in this case from the age of nine, as it is about entertaining young and old in the audience.

The choreography is mostly routine but by using popular songs (often with drastically rewritten lyrics) and keeping the timing upbeat and precise, Hannah McFadden and musical director Adam Bluhm keep our interest in the musical numbers at the opening performance.

The script has a number of good ideas like Robin Hood gaining a pardon by turning from theft to running a legitimate charity for the poor, but the exposition early in Act I was a bit dull, especially for young ones in the audience. The traditional theme of the contest between the Sheriff and Robin for the hand of Maid Marion is played out with severeal interesting twists, but I wonderered what happened to the notion of charity. Robin wins, of course, but seems to settle for a life of handouts from his upper-class wife. Maybe Marion's father, the King (away on holidays in this version), should only agree if she becomes a commoner and helps run the charity.

After interval, Act II brightens up when we meet Friar Tuck's half-brother, the Muslim ruler of an unnamed Middle Eastern Country. On the entertainment side, Dave Smith does a wonderful marriage ceremony singing Love Me Tender as Friar Tuck, and runs a mean casbah as Sheik Yabooty. His character also raised the satiric standard which should be waved in all good pantomimes, and could offend some in his references to the Prophet among bare midriffs and, on the other hand, as Friar Tuck again, to his souble standards - "after all, I do work for the Church". Mind you, it was Robin Hood, cross-dressed in harem gear who questioned Tuck's standards.

With more laughs for small people in Act I, like the yucky food competition at the end, and knowing that the pace of the show will improve as the young players gain experience, Robin Hood with entertain while achieving Ickle Pickle's community theatre aims.

Review by Frank McKone

Canberra Times, January 17, 2008.