SHANKLIN Theatre was transformed into a wooded wonderland last week for Curtain Call Creative's production of Stephen Sondheim's musical, Into The Woods.

This lively show featured a cast of talented Island youngsters and an orchestra, while the plot cleverly weaved themes from several well-known fairytales into a fascinating tale of dreams, choices and consequences.

Omar Naguib was wholly believable as the Baker, whose wife — played by Freya Mackay-Blake — wishes to have a baby.

Their horror was palpable when they realised they were cursed and I loved their rendition of It Takes Two.

Caitlin Mooney was mesmerising as The Witch and her relationship with Rapunzel (Ava Cowan) was fascinating to watch too.

Ellie Warne made a lovely Cinderella and she had a fabulous voice, while Enid Rees was charismatic in the role of Little Red Riding Hood.

George Sales was great as Jack, whose beanstalk adventures attract the attentions of the giant who threatens the safety of all, while Abigail Metcalfe played Jack's mother well.

Ebb Phillips reminded me of a young Prince Charles in his role as Cinderella's prince, and Brennan Coe was good as Rapunzel's prince, as were the two stewards, aka Alfie Luke and Kieran Adams.

Sam Evans-Murray had foxy charm as the Wolf and Lacey Edie was good as Grandmother, as was Katy Haggerty as Cinderella's stepmother, and Sophie Frost and Kaitlyn Donovan as the step-sisters.

Jonathan James cut an eerie figure as the Mysterious Man, Tom Thorne did a good job as the narrator and there were a number of other cast members foot and word-perfect in this amazing production.

Director John-Paul McCrohan's work has been seen at the Edinburgh Fringe and he has worked on productions across the south coast, while musical director Andrew Woodford is well known on the Island and further afield, as is choreographer Ashleigh Mackness.

I took my 11-year-old son along and in his words: "The sets and actors were pretty amazing and I liked all the characters in it."

As he has recently seen Wicked in the West End, that's praise indeed!