Into the Hoods

In ZooNation's hit street-dance show (which borrows the idea, but not much else, of Sondheim's musical 'Into the Woods'), Li'l Red and the Wolf are an aspiring singer and a grasping producer; Rap-on-Zel is the landord's grounded daughter, and DJ Spinderella wants to man the decks at the Prince's ball. Entertaining transpositions all - but director/choreographer Kate Prince's show isn't really about the stories. That's because 'Into the Hoods' is all about the dancing, and the steamroller spirit of its young company. The dialogue and narration are all pre-recorded; so are the non-stop, chopped-up songs, from the likes of Prince, Kanye West, Roots Manuva and, er, Coldplay. That leaves the cast free to spin, jerk and flip in remarkable, fluid displays of bendy-limbed mobility. The show flirts with a downbeat climax. But this isn't real life. It is, in its own way, as much a soft-hearted fantasy as any West End musical, but studded with funny, pugnacious set-pieces and performed by a lithe and dynamic company whose own excitement is pretty difficult to resist.