Peter Pan the Panto

The Panto starts with a musical medley while the lights change the mood of the wispy cloud sky backdrop: optimistic and happy through moody and ominous. It’s a lovely introduction to Uckfield Theatre’s ambitious production of Peter Pan, with mainly children and young people, supported by a handful of adults: at one point there were over 40 on the stage, knowing exactly where they were going in a limited space and everyone doing the same choreography. Director Emma Creffield, Musical Director Daniel Card and Choreographer Kirstie Dolphin have clearly worked very hard on this production and it shows in the quality we see.

One of the challenges for any theatre putting on Peter Pan is the audience expectation of Peter, Wendy, Michael, John and Tinkerbell being able to fly, and this effect was done very well. Standing on a platform on the stage with clouds all around them from a dry ice machine was a great choice, although dry ice rolls down, so it cascaded in clouds to the audience causing a lot of audience wafting with programmes and some coughing, and impeded visibility of the stage. The set up of the effect was all it needed rather than continued billowing due to the impact on the audience seated lower.

The costumes are superb: from green clad Peter Pan exactly as he should be to Wendy in the pale blue nightdress and Michael’s top hat. Captain Hook’s costume was super, including hook which he swapped from hand to hand when needed in a comical addition. Everyone looked the part, and the addition of Nana the dog was great, played by Darcie Richardson in full dog costume with lovely movements. She also played the crocodile, making its appearance zooming through the audience up the aisle lying on a skateboard which was a brilliant touch.

With such a massive cast that all did so well it’s impossible to single everyone out, but there were some that really shone. Harriet Warren was marvellous as Tinkerbell with her sassy attitude and light up fairy wings. She had lovely light fairy movements and choreographed dancing and she was confident at being centre stage. Mark Sherlock was wonderful as Smee, happy to laugh at himself and be the brunt of many jokes, with an easy confidence that made the audience relax. Peony Judd as Nibs, one of the lost boys, showed such wonderful stage presence and subtle acting, always on and with a lovely voice: one to watch for the future. The absolute star of the show was Poppy Widdowson as Peter Pan: confident and a seasoned performer used to working with an audience who were reticent in audience participation at first. Her pitch perfect voice with a massive range was a joy to hear. She created a Peter who was young, innocent, belligerent at appropriate times and overwhelmingly sympathetic and likeable.

There are so many different moments in this show which were really standout and effective, such as Tinkerbell using her magic wand to make people alive and start the show which was a lovely touch. There are so many moments of fun in the production which shows how much thought has been put into it. These include the call for binoculars, resulting in Nibs putting her hands on her head for the other to look through; the shuffling lost boys from one side of the stage to the other trying to hide Wendy; Peter’s reaction to a ‘real’ kiss on the cheek, and what every audience at Panto loves: the improvised moments where the actor laughs. Spike Mayhew as Mrs Smee (the ‘Dame’) with the improvised list of good things to Smee, ending in a very detailed description of a roast dinner, was really funny. There were more than a few times they said that something was not in the script which was funny at first but then became overused. The shoutouts from cast to people in the audience was quite odd and went on for quite a while: this is where it would be usual to perhaps say happy birthday to children in the audience or have an audience singalong. It sadly had the effect of excluding some of the audience which was a shame. Love in a Panto is always expressed in an innocent and romantic way and the quite lewd jokes and double entendres, plus the portrayal of love in this show being sexualised was a little inappropriate in front of so many children in both the cast and the audience.

The music was lovely, especially standout was ‘Wellerman’ Sea Shanty and ‘Sail On, Boys’ with super pitching and glorious harmonies. Choreography and performance of ‘Born This Way’ was also great. The choreography was well rehearsed and a great addition every time throughout the show, creating some great moving shapes, which was so lovely. While the scene changes sometimes took a long time and there were moments too long looking at an empty stage, and would have benefited from more pace, it’s a really well put together and ambitious production which everyone involved clearly adored working on. Congratulations and well done to everyone involved.

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