Peter Pan

I doubt there will be many people who have not heard of the JM Barry classic story of the boy who never grew up, Pater Pan.

Here we had a great version of the story written by Piers Chater Robinson which kept all the characters we usually see in other versions plus it kept very much to the story as we know it.

The action opens in the children’s bedroom in the Darling household where we see Mr & Mrs Darling played effortlessly by Tim Falconer and Julie Kidd respectively, both of whom were able to deliver the goods much to the delight of the audience.

Of course, it was not just the parents who were discovered in the children’s bedroom, the Darling kids were also there, these being Wendy, John and Michael. Wendy was in the very capable hands of Alice Lamb who was perfect in this part, her singing, dancing and acting was exemplary to bring Wendy to life.

Fast on the heels of Wendy was her brother, John played by Izzy Cowie who again was equally at home in the part. I have to say I am not a great fan of girls playing boy’s characters, however needs must and here it was not too evident that John was in fact being played by a girl. This was equally true with the part of Michael which was played by Freya Harding who again was able to give a great performance.

Also in the bedroom was Liza, the Maid played by Faith McCann and Nana played by Sebastian Falconer, both being able to portray their respective characters with ease, especially Jess who had the task of walking on all fours on each entrance.

All the children were sent off to sleep and we see the quickly moving light which was Tinkerbell who heralded the entrance of the boy himself, Peter Pan who actually flew in through the window, not an easy feat but it was spectacularly executed much to the delight of the younger members of the audience.

Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up was wonderfully played by Katie Bradshaw who was the very epitome of the boy himself. Katie gathered in the warmth and love of the audience and made this character her own, her singing was exceptional and when she was coupled with Alice to sing Don’t Say Goodbye it was a real tearjerker and loved by all.

As Peter takes Wendy, John and Michael on their adventures the audience were once again amazed to see all four of them flying out of the window whilst singing Come Away, Come Away which was superb.

I said earlier the part of Mr Darling was played by Tim Falconer, as with almost all versions of this story the same actor plays the part of Hook too and this was no exception. Tim found himself in this character and was a real swashbuckler of a pirate.

Hook also has a couple of sidekicks in the name of Starkey and Smee, enter James Bradley and Eliza Keane respectively, who fitted into these characters very smoothly.

As Peter Pan takes Wendy, John and Michael on his adventures they encounter the Lost Boys and of course the Indian Princess, Tiger Lily who was played brilliantly by Isla Cook. In the Lost Boys gang, we meet Chief, Slightly, Tootles, Curly, Nibs and The Twins, all of whom were in the more than capable hands of Grace Welburn, Skye McCann, Skylar Falconer, Francesca Abbott, Chloe Oldroyd respectively and Laila Hanley and Ruby Sadler.

The principals were al complimented and supported by an extremely well-disciplined chorus of young members who all looked to be enjoying themselves both singing and dancing.

As I mentioned earlier the singing was excellent as was the dancing, both of which together with the direction combined to make this a top rate production.

The production team of Director - Gillian Shelton, MD- Joel Griffin and Choreographer - Liv Lamb together with Producer – Malcolm Trigg must all be very pleased with the end result and so they should be, it was nothing short of brilliant.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

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