Peter Pan: A New Adventure, Greenwich Theatre – Review

Pros: Fantastically written and hilariously executed. The best way to start off the festive season this year.

Cons: Occasionally the sound would overpower the singing on stage, but the enthusiasm was always matched.
Peter Pan: A New Adventure, Greenwich Theatre – Review

Summary

Rating

100

Unmissable!

The best night out at the theatre you will have all year!

If you’ve started compiling your list of panto’s to see in London over Christmas, you MUST put Greenwich Theatre’s Peter Pan at the top of your list! Having missed out on Greenwich Theatre’s, clearly infamous pantos I was delighted to experience it for the first time this year.

Peter Pan: A New Adventure was the fantastic sequel to the timeless classic, Peter Pan. It tells the story of Wendy, original Wendy Darling’s great-great-granddaughter returning to Neverland and helping Peter Pan on a new mission. We see the return of some original characters, such as Hook and Smee and lovely Tinkerbell.

Greenwich Theatre had been transformed into a wonderful, magical place. With Christmas decorations galore and Peter Pan silhouettes all around, it is a marvellous place to take your children this year. And the bar is even serving festive cocktails for the adults to enjoy.

Everyone, in a big city such as London, has their local panto that gets thousands of visitors each year, and this one was no exception. With the busiest I’ve ever seen the theatre, there was such a warm fuzzy family feeling to the whole evening and the children absolutely loved it.

The set was beautifully colourful and transformed the staging to so many magical locations. With the use of the rotating stage, a beautifully decorated proscenium and a very delightful lighting design there was always something spectacular to catch your eye. The extravagant costumes were a perfect match to the outgoing and magnificent performances we were given all night.

Andrew Pollard’s writing and direction is to be admired. A raucously fun evening with so much for the children to get involved with and participate in; and in classic panto style, a lot of humour for the adults, too. A Panto is all about the more you give, the more you take out of an experience and no one left the theatre without a massive smile on their face.

The performers were outstanding. From Andrew Pollard’s Long Joan Silver, to James-Paul McAllister’s fabulous, show-stealing characters and the beautiful ensemble, every individual brought a new energy and personality to the production that made it special for everyone in the audience. The connection between the actors and characters on stage made the audience feel involved and as if we were all going on this adventure together. Andrew Pollard’s Long Joan was hysterical and Anthony Spargo’s Hook was immense. The relationship between those two on stage was exciting to watch. Louise Young, Krystal Dockery, Sackie Osakonor and Rory Maguire were perfectly cast as the roles of Wendy, Tinkerbell, Smee and Peter Pan himself. Their presence on stage was endearing and so very entertaining.

Greenwich Theatre’s Peter Pan: A New Adventure will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit. I can’t recommend this production enough. Truly something for anyone and everyone!

Writer: Andrew Pollard
Director: Andrew Pollard
Producer: James Haddrell and Simon Francis
Musical Director: Steve Markwick
Choreographer: Rae Piper and Paul Chantry
Sound Design: Tom Lishman
Designer/Costume Designer: Cleo Pettitt
Box Office:  020 8858 7755
Booking Link: http://ticketing.greenwichtheatre.org.uk/single/PSDetail.aspx?psn=55843
Booking Until: 8 January 2017