Writer: Alan McHugh
Director: Michael Vivian
The tale of Peter Pan and his antics with Tink, Wendy and the lost boys is well-known and much loved. Anyone watching this panto at the Darlington Hippodrome, however, needs to throw all of that out of the window and prepare to be whisked away to a 70’s Neverland that is a cross between The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland, with a dash of psychedelia thrown in for good measure.
The concept is a little thin, Pan has lost his ability to fly so Wendy is summoned back to Neverland. The narrative has so many twists and turns at breakneck speed that by the end of the first half we are left wondering what more there could possibly be to do in the second half.
The big name this year is national panto treasure Christopher Biggins, a consummate professional who last graced the Darlington stage as Dame a mere 46 years ago. Biggins is not as light on his feet as he may have been then, indeed he spends most of the show tottering stiffly about in sensible flat boots.
He comes alive a little more in the second half, when cameoing in one of the set piece songs, If I Were Not Upon the Stage, in which he pops on in increasingly ridiculous costumes at incongruous moments – he is able to adlib and shine. He also clearly enjoys his moments on his own – he leads the audience with ease in a rendition of Music Man with children up on stage invited from the audience.
Starkey (Peter Peverley), Hook (Steve Arnott) and Smee (Rikki Jay) work hard to make sure that there is audience interaction throughout, with catchphrases a plenty and many ‘Oh no you won’ts’. It is clear that character set pieces and gag scenes have been chosen over script or storyline.
Acro and tumbling team the Acromaniacs provide a well-practiced acrobatic routine, with Starkey throwing some physical comedy in for good measure. This is fairly impressive, but a slightly too long.
The show features a plethora of characters, and as such Wendy (Sheri Lineham) feels a little surplus to requirements. Although a strong singer and dancer, Lineham has a very similar voice and character to that of Tinkerbell (Tegan Bannister) – their duets don’t add anything – the character itself could have been scrapped altogether in truth.
Captain Hook is fantastic, with a perfectly good singing voice, the ability to dance a bit, fight with a sword and generally get the audience booing and hissing in all the right places.
The panto has some bizarre moments – at the end of the first half Wendy goes off to find crocodiles, then decides she doesn’t want to see crocodiles and instead needs a Kraken. The huge animatronic Kraken turns up out of nowhere, which is essentially as an excuse to use the special FX and rigging available at the Hippodrome. Hook somehow escapes said Kraken during the interval.
Some of the set and costumes seem very familiar – the deck of the pirate ship looks remarkably like the ballroom from Cinderella, and for the finale many of the cast arrived in Egyptian costumes; more Pharaoh in Joseph than ensemble in Peter Pan. Mrs Smee turns up for the bows as a flying chandelier complete with candles, giving Lumiere a run for his money.
In essence, this is a slick panto, with enough pee and poo gags to keep the audience entertained. More like a series of scenes and set pieces strung together than a coherent show, this is slightly better than your standard panto fare.
Runs until 31st December 2022.
The Reviews Hub Score
Neverland family nonsense
It just goes to show how we all see things differently! For me, the star of any show should have the persona and ability to carry the rest of the cast, if necessary. Here, was entirely the reverse. Christopher Biggins was no more than a cameo role and very limited at that. His performance was wooden and he totally lacked the ability to ad-lib and unable to get the audience “wishing for more”.
I thought the costumes were great and commend the cast for giving their all, although I have seen better Villains.
That said, my grandchildren said they enjoyed it , so “job done”!!
I have to disagree with Peter Clark, who is obviously a happy panto-going chap. I thought this was excellent family entertainment. Was he at the same show as us? OK, Christopher Biggins isn’t the spring chicken he once was but his charm and stage presence were evident throughout. The young leads were delightful. The actor playing Captain Hook was excellent. I have seen him perform in other pantos in the region and he is one of the best in the business. I thought the music, costumes and scenery were spectacularly first class. My family and I had a wonderful afternoon at a show that had all the essential ingredients of a first class pantomime.