Peter Pan

Synopsis

When the leader of the Lost Boys, the fleet-footed Peter Pan, loses his shadow during a visit to London, kind-hearted Wendy helps him re-attach it and is invited back to Neverland in return - where Tinker Bell the fairy, Princess Tiger Lily and, of course, the vengeful Captain Hook await.

Our Review:

18 December 2003

The first play I ever saw was Peter Pan - in fact, it was Alastair Sims' barnstorming Captain Hook that really opened my eyes to the magic of the theatre.

But how would the present generation cope with JM Barrie's classic? Some of the exotic elements of the original (the Red Indians, for example) are rather dated and, thanks to the wonders of cinematic special effects, we're used to seeing people flying. So is this play still a cause of wonderment? To gain the benefit of an expert's pair of eyes, I took my nine-year-old nephew Damani with me (his view follows).

The first difficulty for a director tackling Peter Pan is to decide whether to handle it as straight play or as pantomime. Steven Dexter opts for the first option. So, rather than being played by a woman, the part of Peter falls to the young actor Jack Blumenau complete with rather un-Edwardian Gareth Gates' hairstyle. (The effort for authenticity is, however, rath...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.168.167) - 20 January 2004:

It's been a bad year for "Peter Pan". First this lousy stage version then the CGI-heavy but magic-free film now polluting your local cinema. Thanks in part to J.M. Barrie himself for leaving multiple versions of the story there is no such thing as the definitive "Peter Pan"; this oddly amateurish, visually ugly production doesn't even try....

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