Wolves seldom get great reviews, but maybe all they need is the love of a good audience. The human-sized wolf puppet in Pickled Image's clever show for children takes time out backstage to tell us how much he has been misunderstood. In between making his exits and entrances for a starring role in Little Red Riding Hood, while simultaneously babysitting a pram full of cubs, the Wolf reminds us that you shouldn't believe everything you hear.
Perhaps the story of the Three Little Pigs is not entirely true, he suggests: he was only trying to help the pigs, and it was the straw house that tickled his nose, causing him to huff and puff. Grandma, meanwhile, is withering about the devious wolf who swallows a family of billy goats but is too stupid to realise that an overly full stomach can be life-threatening.
The two halves of the show need stitching together so the joins don't show, and you feel that puppeteer Dik Downey is more interested in the wolf's side of the story than in Grandma's. But he is a bit of a star, who does everything with a theatrical flourish, including taking his final bow in the style of Frank Sinatra.
The latest in a series of shows by Bristol companies exploring the possibilities of the Old Vic building, this crafty show is good PR for Bristol theatre and for wolves, too.
Until Saturday. Box office: 0117-987 7877.
