Peter Pan

It's always nice to come to such a well supported pantomime, and this year I was delighted to see very few empty seats in the house. There were quite a few new faces on stage.  Many of these were young people. and it is always good to see a Society investing time and effort in it's youth members in this way.
The story of Peter Pan is a familiar one to many of us, but it can present problems as a pantomime script as, among other things, it has no recognisable 'dame' in the story. In this version, the part of Tiger Lily was closest to this character, being very much larger than life. There is also more plot development than in the average pantomime, and this was aided here by a prologue (nicely staged with the characters in silhouette) involving the sword-fight between Captain Hook and Peter Pan in which Hook loses his hand. Hence we were able to understand the hatred that Hook feels towards Pan throughout the story.
Following the prologue, the opening scene introduced us to Tiger Lily and the Indians, with some clever Indian tribe jokes which, as well as being funny, encouraged early audience participation. There were some nice touches in this opening scene, including the washing being hung on a clothes horse, and a stuffed toy being spit-roasted over a fire for dinner!
We were then transported to the Darlings' house where we were introduced to Wendy's family in their cosy nursery, along with Nana, who in this version appeared to be a Dalmatian in a very fetching onesie!
It is a feature of this society that they use back projection for their backdrops, and this show maintained this tradition to the usual high standard. The arrival of Tinkerbell was shown as a light travelling across the backdrop (a projection of the nursery wall) and alighting on the clock, before the actress Tinkerbell appeared on stage. After Peter Pan and Wendy meet and decide to fly to Neverland, there was a quite delightful projection sequence involving them and John and Michael flying around London. Other projected backdrops, including the beach at Neverland, the underground home of the Lost Boys, and the deck of the Jolly Roger, were equally impressive. 
The addition of new mid-stage curtains allowed some scenes to be played in front and helped to make the action more continuous, so aiding the pace. At times the coordination of the curtain pulling wasn't quite synchronised, and perhaps this is something that could be rehearsed to the same degree as the rest of the panto. The pace was further aided by the levelling out of the stage and the wing space, so that characters no longer need to climb up to make an entrance. Now that it is level, it would be good to see actors literally 'burst' onto the stage, which would energise the production still further.
There were some lovely costumes, including Captain Hook's red jacket, Myrtle the Mermaid's outfit and matching wig, and the lovely Nana and Crocodile. Make up and wigs were appropriate, and I particularly liked the Indians' plaits!
Act 2 opened with a lively rendition of 'You Can't Stop the Beat' which was fronted by Wendy and Peter. There were not many musical numbers in this show, which seemed a shame, as the mix of backing-track music and piano was a good combination, and the audience would have responded well to a few more songs. Tinkerbell's speaking of 'I Will Always Love You' with backing piano was a good idea for an inexperienced performer, and perhaps this idea could have been developed further to build more confidence by encouraging part of the song to be sung.
Lighting was good. As far as I could tell there were no personal microphones used, but projection was excellent and I heard every word. The sound effects were also good, although unfortunately the sound of the Pirates being eaten by the Crocodile was cued slightly early, before the Pirates left the stage.
As usual at this society, each member of the cast was announced for their bow, and this is a very important moment, especially for the younger members of cast. Perhaps some music at this time would have enhanced the bows. The final rendition of 'I'm a Believer' was very energetic, clearly enjoyed by both cast and audience, and was a nice ending to an enjoyable evening.

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