Peter Pan, The Mayflower, Southampton (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Peter Pan, The Mayflower, Southampton
2:13pm Wednesday 14th December 2011 in Stage Reviews
Peter Pan at The Mayflower
DO YOU remember what it felt like to believe in fairies and honestly think you would never, ever grow up?
If not, then Southampton’s Mayflower theatre is the place to visit this Christmas.
For two-and-a-half hours this jaw-dropping musical production will transport you back to that magical time when swashbuckling pirates fought with swords, crocodiles ate the baddies and happy thoughts were all you needed to fly.
The classic tale of Peter Pan is not your average seasonal offering. But this famous children’s adventure takes theatre-goers on a magical journey to Neverland with all the incredible trimmings you would expect from producer Michael Rose.
The trademark stunts and incredible visual effects could not fail to impress as children and adults alike gasped watching Peter and his friends fly.
The audience were in touching distance of Peter, played with magnificent intensity by Daniel Boys, as he swung above the stalls and into the dress circle.
He was perfectly matched note for note by the lovely Katy Ray as Wendy, eldest sister of John and Michael who shared great on-stage chemistry.
Former EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin showed off her singing skills as mother of the children Mrs Darling.
Her stage husband was played by Ben Richards who also took on the role of Jack Sparrow-esque Captain Hook, providing many a comic moment complemented fabulously by his band of camp dancing pirates.
But one of the biggest stars of the night was funnyman Les Dennis as the slightly dim pirate Smee, whose comic timing and wisecracks always got big laughs.
It may not be a typical panto – there was no sign of the usual clichés and Christmas singalongs to finish the night – but what Peter Pan does offer is a breathtaking journey back to Neverland that can’t fail to warm even the coldest hearts.
Beaulieumama says...
10:44am Sat 17 Dec 11
itely not a fun panto but a poor quality musical that brought us no christmas cheer ! The quality of the production was poor, the costumes cheap and nasty, the lighting poor, the songs unfamiliar and too adult for the children...very little nteraction with the crowd...Peter Pan was so roly poly fying around that at least was comical and Les dennis could have been brilliant but he had limited opporunity in this badly thought out chritmas production that appealed to noone in our 12 strong group across all ages...don't go BRING BACK PANTO PLEASE !