Little Red Riding Hood goes pop

If you don't have children of your own, you won't have to borrow some to accompany you to Red Riding Hood, a new musical by Paul Boyd currently on at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, because the show aims to appeal to adults as much as children. The production does tell the story of Red Riding Hood (Boyd prefers to omit the Little), but only as it is told among a group of gypsies on stage. Taking on the roles of Red Riding Hood, the hunter and the wolf as they re-tell the traditional tale, the cast sing country, blues, pop and rock as well as drawing on a little gypsy magic.

Meanwhile, just over the Border in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, another Paul Boyd musical, Hansel and Grettel, is the Christmas production at An Grianβn. Here, the story is told directly to the audience with actors doubling as various characters and the songs sung in more traditional "musical" style.

Not that you could call anything this 29-year-old, Belfast-born man does traditional. A graduate of Theatre Studies from the University of Ulster in Coleraine, Boyd was already getting noticed in college when Macbeth - The Musical, which he wrote for a student production, transferred to the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, and later to Belfast.

In 1993, Boyd was a founder member of Kabosh Theatre Company. Four years later, he left the young Belfast company to pursue a freelance career as a musical director, composer and writer. He has since written and musically directed productions for the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and An Grianβn in Letterkenny. These include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (nominated for Best Drama at the 1999 Belfast Arts Awards), Rumpelstiltskin - The Musical, Red Riding Hood - A New Musical and Hansel and Grettel.

"I never remember enjoying pantomimes as a child which is probably why I am now providing an alternative to them. I'm a great fan of Stephen Sondheim, Alan Menken and musical theatre in general. My aim is to engage children and entertain adults," says Boyd.

His next project is McCool XXL , a rock opera based on the legends of the Fianna. "It's the Rocky Horror meets David Beckham," explains Boyd. The production by Big Telly Theatre Company from Portstewart will open in the Lyric in March.