Why is Peter Pan always flying? Because he Neverlands.

You might have seen my blog a few months ago all about pantomime.  You can read it here:

Oh no he isn’t………. Oh yes he is!

Well, this week I was very kindly invited by the Gordon Craig theatre in Stevenage to go along to review their 2016 pantomime which is Peter Pan!  This was rather different to the National Theatre’s version of Peter Pan  (https://gotoashow.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/i-am-a-lost-boy-from-neverland-usually-hanging-out-with-peter-pan/) but just as good.  So, let’s get right into it.

The show started with a window cleaner who reminded me of Peter Pan because not only was he washing all of the windows, he was also looking through them.  This is how Peter Pan finds the Darling family; by looking through windows.  This is panto though so you won’t be surprised to read that the window cleaner, in true pantomime style, has several water pistols of varying sizes.  Do not be surprised if you find yourself a little bit damp…!  This sets the tone!

Although it’s a panto, this production is true to the story of Peter Pan…with a little twist or two!  For instance, Peter Pan likes to refer to Tinkerbell as his “stupid fairy” and Tinkerbell, rather than flying, uses roller skates to get about. (She says she can fly…I’m not convinced I believe her.).  In fact Peter and Tinkerbell have a funny relationship in this show.  At one point Peter tries to bounce her to get her to reveal information to him, and this made me laugh a lot.  I think they love to loathe each other 🙂

The set and scenery were amazing and changed all the time.   My favourite sets were the mermaid lagoon and the Darlings’ bedroom which was so pretty.  It had a perfect finishing touch – a giant dog called Nana.  There were LOADS of jokes, literally loads, and they all made me laugh.  A lot.  I thought Smee’s jokes were the funniest of all.  As well as laughs, the show is full of songs.  Although you will recognise the songs, you will also notice some changes to the lyrics.  For instance, they sang Defying Gravity (one of my favourite songs ever) but not as you might know it.  Again, it was very funny!  The Lost Boys sang the song Naughty, from Matilda the Musical, when they were being a bit naughty.  This also made me laugh and it was a clever link.  As you can tell, I did a lot of laughing throughout this production, as did my Dad who came with me.  This shows that this production is great viewing for both children and adults, and would make a great family outing this Christmas.

The costumes.  Well, they were fantastic.  Mrs Smee’s dresses and little corsets were amazing…and again really, really funny.  Let’s just say her taste in fashion is….very interesting…

My favourite part in the show was when Swash and Buckle, two of the pirates (who also choreographed the show and were on Britain’s Got Talent) had a bit of a disco.  You will have to GO TO THE SHOW to see the dance medley but, just so you know, they were brilliant dancers and totally worth seeing.

A huge thank you to the Gordon Craig theatre for inviting me to come and see their pantomime and to write my review.  I absolutely loved it and cannot recommend it enough.  Thank you also to Theatre Bloggers (http://theatrebloggers.co.uk/), the home of theatre bloggers across the UK, for asking me to review for them.  Also James, if you’re reading this, a big shout out to you – good pirate walking!! (And yes, this does mean that you might just end up as part of the show, so watch out!).

You can buy tickets here: http://www.gordon-craig.co.uk/peter-pan-i1569  You’ve got until 22 January 2017 to see it.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this week’s blog and have a Super Sunny Saturday!!

Ariella xxx

PS: Don’t forget that Get Into London Theatre opens at 10:00am on 6 December so you might pick yourself up some nice tickets.  Or you might persuade your mum, dad, grandparents, anyone, to take you: http://www.getintolondontheatre.co.uk/