Paul Boyd returns to the Lyric Theatre this Christmas with an exciting new musical of Peter Pan, adapted from the play by JM Barrie. I totally loved his Alice in Wonderland last Christmas, so I couldn’t wait to go on this latest adventure to Neverland; and I wasn’t disappointed!
Boyd stays with the narrative of JM Barrie’s classic story and retells it beautifully. It isn’t always easy to retell a vintage tale in a modern way, but Boyd does it with ease, keeping both older and younger viewers entertained and on the edge of their seats. Expect to be taken on an exciting adventure full of action with lots of ‘ahh’ moments and laughs in between!
The story synopsis is age-old. Neverland is in crisis. Pirates have arrived on the island and the Neverlanders are trying to keep them away. Miles away, in a pretty, cosy nursery in London, Wendy Darling (played excellently by Rhiannon Chesterman) is reading the exciting tales of this fairytale land to her younger brothers Michael (Rea Campbell-Hill) and John (Christopher Finn). Just as they arrive at the concluding chapter, they realise it is missing, before an unannounced visitor at the window grabs their attention. The visitor is bad-boy Peter Pan from their story book, the boy who never grows up. He whisks them off on a perilous voyage, an adventure that is, in fact, living out the missing final chapter. Michael Mahony’s Pan perfectly captures the essence of a lost boy yearning to be saved, a touching theme that Mahony seizes perfectly.
And while Peter Pan may be naughtily bad, he’s nothing compared to Captain Hook, played brilliantly by Allison Hardin as an exotic and menacing Captain Jess Hook. Valentina loved that Captain Hook was a female – a sign of the times perhaps, although I believe that this was, in fact, in keeping with Barrie’s early intentions considering the story suggests she may be the fairytale version of the Darlings’ not-so-nice nanny!
The play uses a group of local children for the Lost Boys and native people and they put on an excellent performance alongside the professional cast. Every single member of the cast shone in their performance and I couldn’t name a single fault! I especially loved the mermaids who put on an amazingly camp operatic performance – such a great treat!
Special mention to Stuart Marshall for the amazing set as well as Conleth White for the lighting, Paul Boyd himself for the music and Gillian Lennox and Erin Charteris for the costume. All elements weaved effortlessly together, creating moments of suspense whilst moving the story along.
This is a wonderful play for all the family, and it gets a big thumbs up from V and I.
Peter Pan runs at Lyric Theatre Belfast from 29 Nov - 4 Jan. Tickets are now available, starting from £12 at www.lyrictheatre.co.uk or 028 9038 1081