ROTKÄPPCHEN / RED RIDING HOODTRAFFIK THEATER Luxembourg
Storytelling with Objects & Live Music
For children aged 4–9 and adults
Creation: 2003
Little Red Riding Hood is without doubt one of the world’s most famous initiation stories. It tells of a young girl who, for the first time, is granted permission to leave the protective family home and venture alone into the forest. But is she truly old enough to face the Big Bad Wolf? Or will she inevitably fall into his trap?
In the Traffik Theater version, this well-known Grimm tale unfolds like a Matryoshka, the Russian nesting doll, revealing ever new figures and layers.
Dan Tanson narrates with verve and irresistible charm. Yet he shares the stage with an equally compelling partner: the cellist. With full physical commitment, this gifted musician draws from his instrument every facet of contemporary technique—even down to snoring sounds.
The result is a fascinating piece of visual music theatre, entirely devoted to the emotional power of the story.
Red Riding Hood, an intimate children’s theatre production blending music, words, and object theatre, offers its audience moments of high tension and raw beauty.
The Musical Concept
Simplicity and Clarity
At the centre stands a single melodic, acoustic instrument: the cello. Other sound sources—bells, pans, lids, wood—are used sparingly and precisely. A simple leitmotif develops into a clear yet compelling melodic arc. As with the stage design and narrative style, the music is guided by a consistent search for simplicity.
Heritage and Tradition
Just as the traditional “costumes” of the Matryoshka dolls evoke Central and Eastern Europe, the music recalls a distant past, rooted in ancient traditions. The medieval mode of the leitmotif, harmonies built on fourths and fifths (with a wink to Bartók), and the 5/4 rhythm all conjure echoes of the Middle Ages and Eastern European folk melodies.
Modernity and Timelessness
But innocence cannot last: the initiatory aspect of the story is universal and always relevant. Contemporary playing techniques unexpectedly disrupt and transform the leitmotif. Medieval chant, archaic tonalities, and modern sound experiments overlap and merge—creating a “strange timelessness” in which John Cage is never far away.
An Everlasting Renewal
Melodic singing, plucked strings, percussive effects, concrete sounds, and extended techniques: the cellist explores the full sonic spectrum of his instrument. The piece offers a playful and surprising encounter with the cello in all its facets.
A Concert to Watch – A Play to Hear
The cellist is not only a musician, but also a witness and co-creator of the action. Through his playing, he comments on and accompanies the events on stage. The deliberate manipulation of objects, the calm rhythm, and the familiarity of the story invite the audience to let their gaze and attention shift freely between sound and image.
More than a tale told with objects, this work is a theatre-concert: a visual music play that brings anew the timeless magic of Little Red Riding Hood.
Création: 2003
Autoren: die Gebrüder Grimm, Charles Perrault
Artistic TeamAuthors: Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault
Performed by: Dan Tanson, Michel Boulanger
Direction: Astrid Howard, Dan Tanson
Dramaturgy & Objects: Dan Tanson
Music (composition & performance): Michel Boulanger
Technical direction: Astrid Howard
Stage design: Dan Tanson, Michel Boulanger
Set construction: Koen Raas
Photography & Graphics: Claude Grosch
Production: Traffik Theater / Chantier Mobile asbl / E411 vzw
With the support of the Vlaams Gemeenschapscommissie of the Brussels Capital Region.
Touring History
The production has been performed nearly 300 times across Europe and the Americas.
Notable appearances include:
Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes OFF (Charleville-Mézières)
Kids European Festival (Washington D.C.)
Starke Stücke Festival (NRW, Germany)
Festival Momix (Mulhouse, France)
KinderKinder Festival (Hamburg, Germany)
Theatertreffen (St. Vith, Belgium)
Côté Cour Tour (Doubs & Haut-Jura, France)
theater.cz – Prague German-Language Theatre Festival
Festival Paroles au Solstice (Théâtre de la Montagne Magique, Brussels)
Segni d’Infanzia (Mantova, Italy)
Pole Poppenspäler (Büsum, Germany)
Magdeburg Puppet Theatre Festival (Germany)
Szene Bunte Wähne (Horn/Zwettl, Austria)
Klarafestival (Brussels, Belgium)
