Peter Pan

In his "Director's Note" in the programme, David Hart reminded us all that we can visit NeverNeverland whenever we wish, as children or adults, and reacquaint ourselves with the much-loved characters of Peter Pan, fairy Tinkerbell, our Indian heroine Tiger Lily, villainous Captain Hook and, of course, the Lost Boys.  And so we were invited to join HDOS Centre Stage Company's cast in their telling of this dramatic but wistful tale, overlaid by some of our British panto traditions.

I had high expectations of this production and was initially very impressed by the set, designed by David Hart, and constructed by the in-house creative team.  Stage right, Wendy's small bedroom had been set on a raised platform above the orchestra pit, in front of the proscenium arch.  The main stage was dressed with deep blue curtains, which opened to reveal a splendid reproduction of the prow of Captain Hook's pirate ship, set against a realistic backdrop of lagoon and hills.  The foreground, stage left, was dressed with a realistic cut-out representing a stand of trees, with the suggestion of a harbour wall behind.  A cleverly devised and disguised hydraulic lift platform was used to create the illusion of Peter Pan and Wendy "flying", which also worked extremely well, although the smoke machines used to create the cloud effects were a little noisy.

But for me that's sadly where the magic began and ended.  Whilst the cast and crew had obviously worked hard, the script was at times banal, with far too much dialogue, some of which bore little relevance to the storyline and there were some items that just did not fit comfortably, for instance "My Favourite Things" from "The Sound of Music", which was chosen for the Lost Boys to sing with Wendy?  In contrast, "Greatest Day" was a good choice for the scene when Peter Pan visits Wendy and persuades her to go with him to NeverNeverland for the last time, and this was particularly well-sung.

The other "scenes" were acted out against the static backdrop of the ship and lagoon, with little attempt to create the suggestion of the "Indian camp" or "woodland area near the Lost Boys hideout" with some suitable props!  The use of a gauze curtain in front of the main set, with perhaps projected backdrops, would have helped and certainly would have enhanced the scene when Tiger Lily is held captive on a small rock, supposedly in the middle of the lagoon and not, as it appeared to be, on the quayside!

I began to wonder whether the children in the audience were following what was being acted out on stage, as I was beginning to lose the plot.  Call me "old-fashioned", but an iconic story like Peter Pan should have a magical and mystical feel, not turned into a comic farce.  I felt really sorry for both young James Malone, who did a sterling job as Peter Pan and Billie Allen, who was delightful as Wendy.  They both tried so hard to recreate the characters we know and love and somehow managed to remain in character, despite all the mayhem around them.  Their costumes, too, were authentic, although Peter's hairstyle was more in keeping with that of a pixie, perhaps?  Becky Stolworthy gave us a feisty and mischievous Tinkerbell, her costume suitably fairy-like, complete with sparkly rollerskates which was a nice touch and Paul Gardiner as Captain Hook, was masterful, but not at all villainous.  Charlotte Scammerton gave a good and confident performance as heroic Tiger Lily, with a tuneful rendition of "Roar", accompanied by a nicely-choreographed group of mermaids.  As the pantomime dame, Steven Roach, disguised as the chief squaw of the Ram-a-lang-a-ding-dong Indian Tribe, struggled to get any really lively reaction from the afternoon's capacity audience with his antics.

Most of the ensemble numbers were out of tune, shouted rather than sung, and, at times, the accompaniment from the small band was too brash and musically unsuitable.  The exception was the final number "Never Forget", which did manage to close the performance on a high note.  I was left feeling rather disappointed, as I know how hard everyone works to put on a good show.  Perhaps this was just a one-off, and one too many performances on that particular Saturday?

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