Peter Pan

The cartoon film version of Peter Pan was a firm favourite in my household when I was growing up.  I was therefore thrilled to accept Billboard’s invitation to their pantomime this year.  I was once again accompanied by my nine year old daughter for this production and I would like to start by thanking the cast for their engagement with her during the meet and greet after the performance.  She came away with a beaming smile on her face; thank you!

In the title role, Noah Richards-Taylor did a good job.  He had a nice character and good energy throughout.  We particularly enjoyed the customary thigh slaps!  Noah coped well with the added challenge of being flown several times in the production and this was always well managed by the technical team.  Well done.

Leona Hobbs burst onto the stage as Tinkerbell and shone throughout.  Great character and movement, all done whilst on a pair of roller skates.  This was no mean feat and was very impressive. 

Wendy was played by Seren Allen.  She played the character very well with an assured innocence. Her singing in ‘Your mother and mine’ was absolutely beautiful.

Zach Barnett and Riley Hopkins were excellent as John and Michael.  Both had great characters and worked really well with the rest of the cast.

Billboard’s larger-than-life dame Nursey Nanna was played by Jonathan Coombs.  Jonathan played this part really well.  He had great comedy and really engaged with the audience, particularly poor Connor in the front row, who Nursey Nanna took quite a liking to!

The villain of the piece, Captain Hook, was played by Scott Dutton.  Scott delivered a great performance, with a perfect blend of hamming it up and villainy! Very enjoyable, well played.

Hook was aided by four hopeless pirates; Sus, Sigma, Rizz and Delulu.  They were played by Tailor Wakelam, Amy Coulson, Jayne Gough and Leah-Jade Thomas.  They worked well together and had some delicious moments of comedy.  Each of them had their own distinct character.  A real joy every time they were on stage.

Other named characters did well and added something to the production.  My congratulations to all.

It was lovely to see the society use their junior and babies sections in the performance.  They were all brilliant!

The principal and ensemble singing was generally very good and their choreography was well drilled.

Everyone in district 4 knows that I love a live band and I was pleased to see one for this performance, led by musical director, Jason Venables.  For the most part, the sound was well balanced, with only the occasional overpowering of the onstage action.

From a technical standpoint, lighting and scenery were well done and used effectively.

We had a lovely evening watching this production, thank you so much Billboard.  I wish you all a Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing what you produce in 2026!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.