PETER PAN

Malvern Festival Theatre

(UK Productions)

UK Productions makes a welcome return to Malvern this yuletide with their wonderful adaptation of the children’s classic, Peter Pan. I tend to gauge the success of a pantomime on the engagement of the younger members of the audience and based on the response of those attending opening night, the show was an undeniable, huge hit. They were captivated throughout, following the superb storytelling and joining in, with gusto, whenever required.

Director, Scott Ritchie, proves his metal again following his last visit to Malvern Festival Theatre with his equally excellent Cinderella. He has a definite skill in choosing the perfect cast for his shows. Jessica Punch is perfectly boyish as the eponymous character, Pan, clearly revealing in the challenge presented by the fiendish Captain Hook, played with aplomb by Mark Moraghan. Rosie Needham is striking in both looks and attitude as the pesky fairy, Tinker Bell, and Anna Lawrence presents a refreshingly empowered Wendy. Her brothers, John and Michael, are brilliantly played by Rhys Harris Clarke and Oliver Simmons, respectively. CBeebies star, Andrew Agnew, impresses with his pop vocals for his two numbers, Bills and Uptown Funk, and is clearly as at home on stage as he is on television. A rare quality these days. Laura Harrison plays a feisty Tiger Lilly and Hannah-Jane Fox is as delightful as Mrs Darling as she is entertaining as the saucy mermaid, Persil.

The pirate crew, made up of Andrew Rothwell, Jacob Theisinger and Chris Gage, bound around the stage with impressive energy and perform the most amazing tumbling act in the second half, with the help of a surprisingly agile, Smee. Alastair Bull’s choreography is slickly delivered by dancers of the Cecilia Hall Dance Centre, past and present, including Amelia Arnold and Isla Thompson who are currently training in London at Laine Theatre Arts and Millennium College. Lastly, lads from a variety of performing arts groups in Worcestershire do a grand job as the Lost Boys.

Andrew Ryan’s script is as funny as it is topical and moves at quite a pace. The music is inspired from the hilarious pre-show announcement with Smee and Adele to the great selection of songs throughout pretty much makes up the Now That’s What I Call Music 2015, with a couple of musical theatre numbers thrown in for good measure. The vocals from everyone are very impressive. In fact, Tinker Bell’s rendition of ‘Fight Song’ is one of the best moments in pantomime ever for me. Credit goes to Musical Director, Dean McDermott who is accompanied on keyboards by the talented Mark Cooper and Nicholas Atkins.

The only thing that lets this awesome production down is the scenery, which has seen much better days and is in desperate need of repair or replacement. The Darling children’s bedroom looks as if it would qualify for DIY SOS. Congratulations have to go to the stage crew and technicians who do the most incredible job and clearly have their work cut out for them during the run.

This is a truly magical pantomime and perfect entertainment for the entire family. Get your tickets quick though as it’s selling out fast!