Peter & Wendy

It is not a secret among those that know me that I am a huge fan of Tinkerbell, so I was intrigued and excited when H`All Things Drama invited me to their production of Peter & Wendy. They perform in a Methodist Church so certainly nowhere to put rigging, tracks and harness`s - so how on earth were they going to fly Peter and in due course Wendy? The set itself consisted of some purpose built wings covered in a galactic star covered cloth, ropes had been hung from the arms of the cross attached to the rear wall of the stage area - as I found out later in the production these pulled out to reveal rigging to give the illusion of Hook and Smee being on their ship – very cleverly done, it worked well. There were a couple of covered with cloth boxes and a foldable scaffolding section covered in another cloth - this worked well as the windowsill in Wendy`s bedroom, it added height, depth and interest. The lighting was very atmospheric throughout and a haze machine was used to create an illusion during the “flying” scene. Sound effects dropped in at the correct places  Costumes by Rissa Grant were very striking and pertinent to the characters, Tinkerbell and Peter both had leaves attached to their costumes giving a very 3d effect. I liked Smee`s costume, but I was left wondering why he didn`t have his trademark striped top on – perhaps it would have created a copyright issue? Lisa Holt was responsible for the make up across the cast - it all looked very fitting to the characters being portrayed as did hair by Rebecca Foster.

Sophie Moss as Mrs Darling was beautifully cast, she had a soft gentleness and it came across well to the audience. Adrian Middleton played Mr Smee, they brought a fabulous amount of the comedic side of the character just by raising an eyebrow or an intonation in the dialogue. Their chemistry onstage with Captain Hook (Chris Williamson) was evident. Chris Williamson was a confident  Captain Hook but  personally I would have liked to see a bit more light and shade in the dialogue in the characterisation, it`s a tricky one I wanted to see a bit less “ Pantomime” style Hook and more of  an in depth, cunning, calculating, sad and troubled person. He used his stage space well and emoted a strong persona, his sword fighting skills are exemplary and his choreography of the sword play between him and Peter was superb – it didn`t look as if either of them were holding back. The way the Lost Boys were depicted as thoughts was very clever. The flying scene was quite simply beautiful, Wendy`s dress glittered magically as it caught the lights, the care being taken in the lifts was fabulous, the elongated flowing movements from everyone on the stage all worked together beautifully with the haze machine creating a cloud beneath – it was breath-taking. Marie Williamson was Wendy, she was confident and self assured but not bossy, her diction was good , she made a good connection with the audience while still maintaining the fourth wall and had some good chemistry with both Peter and Tinkerbell. Kyle Briggs-Williams as Peter was every inch the imaginary Peter Pan in everyone`s mind, he was a little bit petulant, demanding, loveable, exasperating and kind, his energy leapt around the stage like an exuberant puppy. Personally I thought the section at the beginning with his shadow was so well done.His chemistry with Tinkerbell (Marina Mercer) was very evident, they showed  some good pace between them . Marina looked every inch the cute yet fiery Tinkerbell that everyone knows yet she still managed to make the character her own, she used her stage space well and moved about the stage lightly , she emoted her anger and crossness towards Wendy (Marie Williamson) very well.  Anjel Stevenson-Taylor played Tiger Lily and she very much made the role her own, it was very different to the way we are used to seeing Tiger Lily portrayed, but her version worked – her portrayal of childlike simplicity and thought processing  combined with her body movements helped us ( the audience) to believe that we really were in NeverLand. Her diction was good and she used her stage space well - she gave some great facial reactions.

Thank you for inviting me to see Peter & Wendy. Myself and my guest enjoyed it and I hope to see you all again very soon .

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