Peter Pan - 2021 - 2022

Peter Pan is not one of the big pantomime names and so it was always going to be a challenge to bounce back from the Covid blackout with an untraditional script, however Layla Crabtree and her team proved that it was not only possible to draw panto audiences back, but to smash back into the panto world making a brilliant impact on the season.

Layla’s pantomime experience gave her all the right skills to get as much traditional elements in, producing a show that ‘hooked’ in the audience and by the end had them cheering, shouting, booing and hissing.

The first thing that struck me from the first note of the first scene was how wonderful it was to hear the children with radio mics. It turned what is usually an opening number that consists of a booming principal with muted chorus voices into a strong ensemble number. It gave an immediate impact and drew me straight in.

The cast were exceptional and whereas a panto reviewer can name every named character in a write-up, the ensemble nature of the show makes this impossible without it sounding like a roll call!

Firstly, the Darling family were exceptional! Rosie Crompton as Wendy, Piran Wills as John, Flo Streather as Michael and Becca Smith as Nana the dog, all shone and the musical number ‘Consider Yourself’ was my favourite number in the show. Wendy’s solo in Act 2 was delightful and this is a young lady with a promising future on the stage.

The lost boys (Mya Parnell, Maddison Shill, George Matheson, Orrie Pinfield, Archie Norveil-Charles, Luke Hemmings-Colbourne and Ruby Anne Smith) worked superbly as a team and their enthusiasm on the stage was palpable from the auditorium. I hope to see these faces again on the Pavilions’ stage!

One face in particular that I will be looking for in the future is Ruby Mae Smith (Lily), who never missed a moment to perform and was a natural in the spotlight.

Nathan Swain-Sachs was a perfect Hook and the show gave his strong singing voice the chance to shine and the relationship between Hook and Chris Mitchell’s Nanny McSmee balanced beautifully.

The pirate crew (Ken Swan, Sarah Wills, Louie Robb and Charlotte Twydell) also showed competent comedy performances (I’m still giggling at the “Tweet tweet, rustle rustle, treeeeee”). Laura Wilson-Back kept the audience laughing and was a perfect Smee Junior.

Angela Mayo-Carroll has never been more perfectly cast than in the role of Marina the Mermaid and her singing voice was spectacular.

Peter (Ellie Medland) and Tinker Bell (Claire Northcott) were a charming pairing and bounced off the younger cast members beautifully with great energy and Gavin Smith’s Big Chief (with big muscles!) was great fun and got great laughs.

The lighting designed by Will Tippett and operated by Daniel Saint was beautiful and gave real atmosphere to the performance.

Al Dunn and his team working behind the scenes were slick and Al’s brief appearance on stage proved a comedy moment for the audience. Margaret Long and Harri Crook slaving away behind the scenes, also deserve a round of applause.

David Warren, running the sound desk, deserves a mention as the running of so many radio mics so slickly really gave the show (particularly the ensemble numbers) great impact.

Special mention must be made to Chrissie Renwick and her chaperoning team as without them, these talented youngsters would not get the chance to shine like they have.

The costuming team should be incredibly proud, as the costumes were wonderful and kept the characters true to the style of Peter Pan but also true to the need of a colourful pantomime.

Jeff Hocking provided a broad range of music to the show ranging from existing and traditional pantomime musical choices (You Can’t Stop the Beat, Consider Yourself) to a wonderful Bond-esque remix of Gimme Gimme Gimme to an original composition by Jeff (Fly Peter Fly). Another great set of songs by Jeff!

Carmen Louise’s choreography was superb with a particularly strong piece of choreography for ‘Revolting Children’. The whole panto was a wonderful showcase for Carmen’s work and she should be very proud.

When it comes to directing a panto, you need a special set of skills. You need: Insanely robust organisational skills, larger than life creative vision, the team leading abilities of a true pioneer, a sense of humour that knows no bounds and the magical ability to engage an audience of any age – Layla Crabtree, not only demonstrated her capability of all of these things, but surpassed them. She took the skills of a cast from 6 years old to goodness only knows what age and drew out a show that in my opinion put some of the professionals to shame. The magic of panto comes from community spirit and engagement and she brought every player to the theatre and got the best from them. Well done to all of the production team.