Peter Pan Jr

Peter Pan Jr – a play performed by Adlington Music and Arts (AMAS) Jr on Friday, 30th June, 2023 at Adlington Community Centre, Railway Road, Adlington.

It was great to see AMAS Youth back on stage after a four-year break. It was the 21st June, 2019, when I last had the privilege to see them stage the musical Madagascar, which won them two NODA Awards at the 2020 District Awards Dinner (Best Staging and Paul Stanley for Best Musical Director).  Much has changed since then, but what hadn’t changed was the enthusiasm, commitment and dedication of these young people and the society they represent!  

In the programme notes… it’s taken eight months of incredibly hard work, not only by this young cast, but by a very small committee, a dedicated Production Team, a hard-working Back Stage Crew and Set Builders, an experienced Sound and Lighting Team and many individuals… Chaperones, First Aiders, Members of the senior AMAS Society, parents/carers and many many more who all contributed in getting this production to stage!  Was all that effort worthwhile… from what I saw and the applause that greeted the finale… the answer to that question is a very big YES…. well done everyone, be proud!

We had five young people in Peter Pan that performed in Madagascar… they were Ben Brooks who in 2019 played Marty and tonight is playing ‘Smee’… Fern Corey, who in 2019, played ‘King Julien’ and who played Mrs Darling tonight…  Jessica Tomlin who played the penguin ‘Private’ in 2019 and who tonight played Michael Darling… Evie Carney who played ‘Suzi’ the Penguin in 2019 and tonight is playing a dual role …the ‘Ticking Crocodile’ and ‘Curley’ one of the Lost Boys, and our last survivor… Isabelle Pugh, who played ‘Maurice’ the Lemur back in 2019 and who played ‘Liza’ the Darling’s House Keeper this evening!  I think we all know the storyline behind JM Barrie’s Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy sidekick, Tinkerbell, who visits the nursery of the Darling Families children late one night and, with a sprinkle of pixie dust, the magical journey begins across the stars that none of them will ever forget. In the adventure of a lifetime, the travellers come face to face with a ticking crocodile, the fierce Brave Girls, a band of bungling pirates and, of course, the villainous Captain Hook.

The Production Team… Natalie Beaumont (Director) was the person tasked with bringing this classic story to stage.  There was little or no doubt that Natalie had a good handle on how to achieve that and with a well-rehearsed and enthusiastic cast at her disposal, this was achieved and more!  Heather Hodgson (Choreographer) did a wonderful job!  Loved, the movement and the formations created. There was energy throughout and some creative choreography that played to the strengths of all the cast well done Heather great job!  Paul Stanley (Musical Director) should be congratulated for some wonderful vocal arrangements and some good harmonies.  Well done to you all… youth is our future and it’s great to see such dedicated people encouraging, supporting and furthering the talents of these young folk… be proud!

The Cast… as most will know, this is where I usually stick my neck out and identify MY ‘showstopper’ and /or favourite performance(s), but I’m of the opinion that the success of this show wasn’t down to an individual as such, this was very much a ‘team effort’ … not only from the talented cast on stage, but from all those people mentioned previously!  BUT, after saying all that … I do feel there were five cast members who really deserve a ‘shout out’:  Lilah Philpott was a perfect fit for the role of the infamous Captain Hook.  Lilah provided us with a great ‘Hook’, stage presence aplenty, good mannerisms and a good singing voice … well done Lilah be proud!  Izaac Latham was another that shone in the lead role of ‘Peter Pan’.  Confident, good stage presence, good vocals, worked well with all the cast… well done Izaac, be proud!  Iris Griffiths took on the role of Wendy Darling… not the easiest role to play, but Iris made it her own. Confident, loved the compassion shown toward the ‘Lost Boys’ which is vital, another with a lovely singing voice… great job Iris be proud!  Ben Brooks took on the role of ‘Smee’, Hook’s bumbling sidekick with effortless ease!  Mannerisms and facial expressions aplenty, well done Ben be proud!  My last ‘shout out’ goes to Chloe Hargreaves and her portrayal of the very brave ‘Tiger Lily’ another perfect fit for the role! Stage presence aplenty, led the lively Ugh-a-Wug song/dance really well… be proud Chloe!  Bethan Tattersall – ‘John Darling’; Jessica Tomlin – ‘Michael Darling’; Fern Corry – ‘Mrs Darling’; Jarl Nightingale – ‘Mr Darling’; Alice Owens – ‘Nana the Dog’; Issabelle Pugh – ‘Liza’; Evie Carney – ‘Crocodile’ (loved the way it moved).    Lost Boys …Hanan Arnold – Slightly; Alice Owens – Nibs; Evie Carney – Curley Charlie McNamee – Twin 1; Isabella Jones – Twin 2; Eva Bennison – Tootles; Katie Houseman-Smith – Lost Boy One.    Pirates …Bella Doherty – Noodler; Evie Forshaw – Jukes; Alex Connell – Starkey; Bethany Topping – Cecco; Ethan Towner / Tilly McKnight and Rihanna Morey – Crew Members.    Brave Girls … Issabelle Pugh – Small Brave Girl; Amelia Antas – Brave Girl 1; Annabelle Clough – Brave Girl 2; Elouisa Porter / Fern Corry and Isabelle McCormick – The Tribe.

Staging/Set/Tech… as is the norm here at Adlington Community Centre… the staging was built in house and provided the ideal platform for these young actors to performs from (loved the Darlings Bedroom, the Lost Boys underground home and I really did think the Pirate Ship set was impressive) …  Stephen Pilkington (Stage Manager) (I think Stephen must live at the Community Centre… there isn’t a production goes by that he isn’t front and centre)… well done Stephen, every credit sir!  Stephen was assisted on this occasion by Cliff Hill and Russ Jones (Stage Team) well done you two, great job!  What also was impressive was the projection and the lighting… loved some of the projected images… in particular Peter and the Darling children leaving for Neverland… well done to Stuart Naylor and Richard Cornes, well done guys!   Sound was under the watchful eye of two more that need a home to go to, ever present here at the Community Centre… Natalie and Joanna Sweet… well done ladies’ great job!

Costumes/Props were fabulous and enhanced the show ever so much… congrats to Ruth Crookson and Louis Heyes (Costumes) and Team Youth, Margaret Smith and Sharon Morris (Props)… loved the crocodile transport, well done one and all!

As I’ve said many times before… productions like this don’t just happen… especially ‘youth productions’… it’s takes dedicated people who are prepared to give of their time, knowledge and experience to the furtherance of youth and there is little or no doubt that AMAS Youth are blessed with many such people. We have Directors, choreographers, musical directors for the onstage work; we have ‘grafters’ ‘pushers and pullers’ who build and paint sets, we have talented sound and lighting technicians… but then we have the less noticeable jobs like Chaperones… people who have spent time getting qualified, to ensure that those young people are looked after whilst on and off stage… they are unsung heroes in my book, without who ‘youth productions’ could not take place!   Youth is the future of any society… youth is the future of both amateur and professional theatre… congrats to everyone who helped in any way shape or form with this production… and if you read this and you think you’d like to help in future production, I’m sure you’d be welcomed with open arms!   Well done again folks, you know who you are… you’re doing incredible work and providing these young people with opportunities!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, we thoroughly enjoyed the production and hope to see you all again very soon! 

Stay safe and keep well…
‘STRONGER TOGETHER’

Jim Briscoe
NODA North West
District 6 Rep

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