Wendy and Peter Pan

Phoenix Youth group portrayed the RSC adaptation of Wendy and Peter Pan very well. There were many similarities to the RSC production particularly in the way Lily Hampson played Tink; an irreverent version of the Tinkerbell we all know and love. Lily played the part with gusto and her mannerisms and body language remained constant throughout; She was funny, angry and slightly scary in equal measures and very good.

The relationship between the Darling family was lovely and for a young cast they portrayed incredible maturely. Maggie Hearne was a great Wendy and gave me a lump in my throat on several occasions because of her need to find her younger brother and when she said he had gone because she hadn’t sawn on his button was so moving.   Ollie O’Neill and Lucy Roberts were excellent as Mr and Mrs Darling and again, their emotional scenes were very mature, and they looked comfortable with each other and the other members of the Darling family. Leo Mudie-Jones and Toby O’Neil complimented the others well.

Eben Harris as Peter Pan was a really good choice. His enthusiasm and agility were just right for the mischievous Peter. Eben’s interaction with Maggie as Wendy, was poignant at times and he showed good acting skills with each changing mood.  The lost boys (and girls) were lovely and Harriet Storey was very good as Nibbs.

Dan Canham as Captain Hook and Charlie Bosticco as Smee had great fun leading their band of pirates who also got into the swing of things, quite literally, although my favourite pirate was Martin the cabin boy played brilliantly by Holly Manning.  Lucy Roberts made a remarkable transformation from Mrs Darling into Tiger Lily and was great in both roles.

A couple of negatives would be, the use of the rope, which I felt didn’t really add to the production and the time it took to attach brought the pace to a halt and broke the action unnecessarily in my opinion. The choice of background music didn’t quite match the dialogue, particularly in the more emotional scenes and, as is often the case, was too loud. And finally, the taking of photos directly in my eyeline was extremely distracting.

Well done Phoenix for giving us a wonderful production.

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