The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook – Fairfield Halls, London

Writer: Jon Monie

Director: Sarah Redmond

It’s December, it’s snowing, and it’s panto season once again—time for bad cracker jokes, all-singing all-dancing musical numbers and shoehorned-in topical references. The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook is a welcome addition to the surfeit of London pantos, and what it lacks in the script department it makes up for in an incredibly talented and professional cast.

Captain Hook (Ricky Champ) is long-dead and long-defeated—or so Peter Pan (David Ribi), Tinkerbell, and newly-promoted Captain Smee (Mark Rhodes) think. But Hook is back, and with a dastardly plan to defeat Peter and become unstoppable by harnessing the power of pixie dust. Can he be defeated, and can Wendy Darling’s great-granddaughter Emily (Ohaana Greaves) help? You, and most of the audience already know the answer, and we don’t come to panto for the plot, but the script vacillates between being all-plot and no-plot.

There are some surprisingly lovely character touches, such as Peter’s sense of loss at the now 104-year-old Wendy (vocally played by Fern Britton), but the show fails to make much use of either Emily Darling or her mother. Similarly, Tinkerbell fades into the background three quarters of the way through the first act, and despite a spirited and experienced performance from Gemma Hunt makes little impression. The show is mostly given over to the antics of Hook and Smee: both Champ and Rhodes deliver powerhouse performances that demonstrate their extensive panto careers, getting all of the laughs and dealing well with a sometimes-undercooked audience. Rhodes even makes a recurring joke about Crackerjack work—something impressive when both adults and children are bemused by it for different reasons.

The script runs into the problems of topicality consistently. TikTok and social media jokes are unoriginal and the use of technology seems ill-fitting with Emily’s role in the script, and the metatheatrical and traditional panto elements being much more successful with the audience—particularly as these rely less on the inconsistent sound system, which renders Britton’s pre-recording almost inaudible from the back of the stalls.

Songs range from the well-known (Ribi’s performance of Harry Styles’ As It Was is a standout in a cast that constantly impresses vocally) to the camp (Jay Thomas’ underwater disco mashup) to the unintentionally hilarious (Peter Pan’s Defying Gravity for some unknown reason). The chorus provides colour and excellent dance skills, as well as an impressive but overlong acrobatics scene replacing the traditional “slop” scene. The children of Bright Sparks Performers Theatre and Dance Academy are committed to a fault in a script that should give them more to do. The same can be said of the roles for women across the board: it’s strange that Greaves’ excellent vocals are only truly showcased in the final number. The ending is rather abrupt, and Hook’s demise disappointing. That being said, the joke about Harry Kane? Inspired.

Ultimately, The Further Adventures of Peter Pan is the villains’ show, ultimately belonging to Champ and Rhodes’ five-star performances. The cast excels across the board, each actor doing the most with their parts and almost all being triple-threats, including the children. But a sometimes saggy script and restless audience makes for an uneven evening. Regardless, there is much to enjoy here: it’s funny, festive, and you can scream ‘he’s behind you’ to your heart’s content, whilst watching one of the best panto casts of the season.

Runs until 31 December