Peter Pan

I am certain that when J.M.Barrie wrote his iconic book 'Peter Pan', he had no idea that it would become the most well-known children's stories of all time - subsequently, it was adapted for the stage, a musical and then... a pantomime! This sparkling production by LIDOS proves the point, that with a clever libretto, excellent songs and a strong cast, the story of the boy who refused to grow up resonates so well with children and adults alike.

The Directors for this production, Shirley and Claire Hoyland are to be congratulated for their hard work in making this story mix so well with the very complicated genre that we know as 'Pantomime' - and they had an amazing winner on their hands!

The Musical Director, Robert Sanders, had chosen some lovely songs and dance music to complement the production - vocals were clear and strong. The Choreographers, Donna Wells and Emma Tempest, brought out of the big sptunning dance routines, performed to a high standard by the entire cast. I have already mentioned the strong cast- heading the principals, we had a feisty 'Peter', played by Sophie Massa - her performance was absolutely brilliant, with excellent energy and strong vocals - and she also coped so well with the flying - I have never seen amateurs take on this challenge before in 'Peter Pan' and I have to say, there was a lump in my throat when Sophie made her first entrance through the Darling nursery window. The 'Baddie', Captain Hook, was played with aplomb and suitable wickedness by Robbie Love - he gave the audience plenty to 'boo' about!  'Wendy', played by Lauren Hampshaw, was suitably sweet and her scenes with Peter were excellently performed - she also had a strong singing voice and her flying was equally assured!

'Tinkerbell', played by Clare Devine, began as a moving green light and I was so pleased that she morphed into a fairy, with definite attitude! Her comic timing and delivery of dialogue was extraordinary. Now, as we all know, 'Nana' was a St. Bernard dog, looking after the Darling children in the original story - with a concession to pantomime, she became 'Nana Smee' the Dame, played here by James Sidgwick - I loved his off-beat delivery and his rapport with the audience was superb. We had two comic Pirates, 'Rum' and 'Coke', played very strongly by Matthew Tempest and Rachel Winfield. The jokes and 'business' they got up to with Nana Smee, were just hilarious, particularly in the slapstick routine created by Bryan Craven.

The surprise character of the show was Jenny Utting as 'Mama Chief' - she gave a really quirky performance - how she managed to get that really deep voice from that tiny figure, I will never know, fantastic and so funny! Nikki Hosker, as a very engaging 'Tiger Lily' completed the principal line-up. Supporting the main cast were a number of smaller roles, all excellent in their characters, who added much to the overall production - Harvey Dowling and Derry Webster as 'Michael and John Darling', Julie Marshall as a charming 'Mother' and the inimitable Graham Siddle as 'Father' and a po-faced 'Meek as Mouse'. The team of 'Lost Boys' were very well-rehearsed and energetic in their performance, along with equally energetic dancers and Chorus. Last, but by no means least, James Preston played an athletic crocodile 'Tick-Tock', moving swiftly over the stage.

As always LIDOS have an excellent back stage crew, headed by Paul Harding. Excellent sets, props, sound and lighting effects, along with the flying were truly professional. Costumes were excellent, along with unique make-up effects by students of Leeds City College.

So, here we had a professional, clever, funny pantomime, performed by an eager, lively cast. The evening I attended there was a medical emergency with one of the patrons and the audience had to be evacuated from the theatre - there was an extended interval and the show was restarted where it had stopped - I must not only praise the Theatre staff in its handling of the problem, but a huge pat on the back for James (Nana Smee) who ad-libbed and cajoled the audience back to fun and games, continuing the show brilliantly.

Huge congratulations to you all!  

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