Peter Pan

A small village hall welcomed us at Langtoft, it was packed with light, colour and a warm welcome.  The pantomime was a lovely combination of funny jokes, the usual set pieces, and a rousing audience reaction to the main characters. A village hall production that punched way above its weight.

Strong performances from Abbie Shrimpton as Peter Pan, and Wendy played by Kathleen Crichton along with Amie Wallace (Tinkerbell) whose voice was wonderful.  Other outstanding performances were Smee, (Joan Thompson), who really engaged with the audience, and Hook (Brian Aird), the baddy we all loved to hate.   The choreography was bright and energetic, which combined with colourful costumes and make-up kept the audiences entertained all the way through.  The little ones were adorable and well rehearsed.

Rachel Munns, (Myrtle the Mermaid), also had a lovely voice and good stage skills, very engaging. The combination of Dame, (Tiger Lily) and the chorus of Indians and lost boys was brilliant.  Marc Skinner's engagement with the children on and off stage was often very funny. His costumes were eye-catching and the eyelashes were stupendous!  Ellie Reedman’s cheeky portrayal of the crocodile, popping up all over the stage, captured the audience’s attention.

The combination of live music and recorded soundtracks was excellent.  The sound and lighting were extremely well managed.  I loved the projection pieces by Martin Baines, who deserves a special mention.  The hours of work he must have put in really paid off and enriched the performance for the audience. The animation of Tinkerbell’s appearance as light and sound, skittering and flickering around the stage was masterful.  I noticed that Amie’s Tinkerbell skirt also changed colour, dimming, and brightening on cue, a complicated lighting plot of effects, all artistically choreographed by Martin really enhanced the action.  Very well done.

The staging was limited by the relatively small stage, but by using the steps at the front of the stage and entering through the audience it seemed much bigger.  Clever stage props were used, which only required repositioning or turning to reveal another location in the story. Front-of-house crew were welcoming and gave information for the one-way system, mask-wearing and spacing which helped everyone remain safe.  The program was colourful and included many pictures from the rehearsals. It even included a word search game which was a nice touch.

All in all, a praiseworthy production.  Thank you.

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