Peter Pan

The Stage Door theatre maybe small but it is full of heart. I could tell this was going to be a great evening just from listening to the gentle hum of excitement from the audience and the sound of the youth group warming up their singing voices in the distance.

As I got comfortable in my seat I looked upon the open stage and was instantly transported into the nursery of Wendy, Michael and John Darling.  The wallpaper in the room was of a large map depicting areas of ‘Neverland’, two canopied beds, a large open window, Nana’s kennel and plenty of toys. From the very start the creativity placed lovingly in this production made the whole evening magical. The story of Peter Pan of course started with the shadow of Peter arriving back lit in the window, followed by a choreographed narrative of being introduced to the pirates, the lost boys, Tinkerbell, the Darling family, Nana and of course Hook. The use of large children’s play bricks were used to great effect as they were assembled to depict the Jolly Roger, Wendy’s house and finally being joined together to spell out the title Peter Pan.

The team of costume makers had been extremely busy and every costume was perfectly executed and well fitted, with multiple costume changes being required for most of the cast.

This year saw the addition of a strategically placed screen at the back of the theatre in which the words for each of the songs were displayed. This assisted the younger members of the group and also made sure that everyone was facing front and looking out. Well done to everyone for such lovely singing both in the chorus and those with solos.

Each character was portrayed well on stage but I especially loved the attitude of Tinkerbell played by Lucy Franklin whose disappoint in Peter was well and truly shown.

In some shows scene changes can be dull with the audience placed into darkness but not in this production, the flying scene from the nursery to Neverland was completed in full view as the cast where surround by floating clouds and the second star to the right. The magic of this production captured its audience as the nursery disappeared and Neverland was created right in front of us.

I really cannot say how much I enjoyed the creativity in this production and it really did spark my imagination. The scene in the lagoon with the Mermaids came complete with lots of bubbles from up above giving the effect that we were below the sea, the creation of Wendy’s new house with festoons of ribbons that quickly disappeared up into the ceiling when it needed to be hidden and of course the ticking crocodile that made more than one cheeky snapping appearance.

It was great to see members of the cast helping out the younger members, with the occasional gentle nudge for the next line to be spoken. Everyone in this production had a role to play in bringing this story to life and making it a magical and very enjoyable evening.

The young people of Wem have certainly set the bar high and I look forward to seeing the creativity that is brought to the stage in the next production ‘Under Milk Wood’ performed by the adults.

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