Peter Pan

It was lovely for this group to be back in their newly refurbished theatre with a great cast, great production team and great crew. Everyone loves this iconic story and with super cloths, effective set and colourful costumes this panto was destined to be a winner and we were not disappointed. Scenes changed effortlessly and this added to the steady pace of the show. There was a real buzz in the theatre reflecting that the audience were full of anticipation to sit back and enjoy a great evening of entertainment and they rose to the challenge in quickly becoming engaged in the action and fun. So rewarding for this group to perform to capacity audience; encouraging them to present a panto full of good old fashioned tricks and spills and with a super selection of musical numbers which were well known to the audience.

Peter Lewis and his writing team are to be congratulated for their adaptation of this well-loved tale. The panto was well cast with old and new faces and they all complimented each other in their performances. The juniors in this show sang out well and were very well disciplined in their routines and extremely well costumed. Once again we were treated to lovely dancing from the ‘Alnwick Academy of Dance’ and they were delightful to watch with their dances being beautifully costumed and beautifully danced. They were a real highlight of the evening.

Helen Gee-Graham playing ‘Peter Pan’ gave a stalwart acting performance with excellent vocals too. Jimmy Dodds as Dame Sue Faulae quickly stole the show in his own imitable style with his sharp banter and warmth. He had great rapport with audience. ‘The Darlings’ respectively Peter Biggers and Philippa Mawer both played their parts well and backed up by the children made a lovely family unit. The Darling children were good but ‘Johnny’ played by Peter Lewis was a great casting and I think it’s the first time I have really heard him sing and what a good voice he has. Archie Braid as ‘Nana’ was lovely,  quite a different role for him. ‘Nicky Noo’ and ‘Nacky Noo’ Gary Brown and Gary Kane worked extremely well together and were a very good comedy duo. ‘Captain Hook’ Oliver Pusey and ‘Smee’ Richard Glen were a good combination and made a super pair of rogues. The musical rendition by Oliver Pusey was excellent. All those who took on the other minor roles complimented the main principals and gave good sound performances. Overall there were some very assured performances in this panto and the entire cast were slick in all musical numbers and sang out with gusto as well as delivering polished movement in the numbers.

Once again congratulations to ‘Alnwick Theatre Club’ for giving us all an evening of old fashioned entertainment where we were able to sit back and enjoy all the fun of a traditional pantomime. Well done to all back stage, on stage and production team; as well as Andy Hunt technician who always works beyond the call of duty.

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