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Landis group and youth music theatre UK
Present
Peter Pan
(An Awfully Big Adventure)
Based on the book and play by J.M. Barrie
A New Musical by Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell
Book and Lyrics – Nick Stimson
Music and Lyrics/Musical Director – Jimmy Jewell
Director – Christian Durham
Choreographer – Lucia Pankhurst
Associate Choreographer – Heather Douglas
Designer – Holly White
Lighting Design and Operation – Simon Gane
Bridewell Theatre
21 – 24 Dec 09
 ary Couzens
A review by Mary Couzens for EXTRA! EXTRA!
This musical is ambitious, and it does have some good moments, and there are some good performances in it. That said, let’s get onto the show...
In this musical, based on Barrie’s classic, Wendy is not only all grown up at the beginning of the show, with a nearly grown up daughter of her own, but it is difficult to tell her from an under-house parlour maid. Whoever is in charge of wardrobe for this admittedly amateur production must be either very young or very naive to think that in order to make a youthful actress look like a grown woman, she must look frumpy. They’ve only to see the O2 Peter Pan to see how that scene could be staged, but then again, that production is trying to be true to Barrie’s story. Anyway, grown up Wendy has a daughter of her own, as she does in the final chapters of Peter Pan, and just as in the original story, Peter Pan arrives in the bedroom of Wendy’s daughter, Jayne, considers the original Wendy a traitor for growing up and offers to take her daughter Jayne to Never Never Land with him and Tinkerbelle. Only thing is, in the original story Peter doesn’t come back to find grown up Wendy and her daughter Jayne until the end. So here, Wendy and Peter’s adventures are, effectively, transferred onto Peter (David Leo) and her daughter Jayne (Ilona Jade Errington) instead. And here, instead of being a mute fairy oozing magic dust and green envy, Tinkerbelle (Darcey Ball) is blonde teenager with a ponytail and some cringe worthy lines right out of Eastenders, on a bad writing day that is. So the show is really a musical, that’s part panto (hiss, hiss Capt. Hook), which also attempts to be as lamely funny as a television show. Only thing is, it only achieves any of these ends momentarily, and very sporadically. But still, somehow, its heart seems to be in the right place, or at least, heading in the right direction.
Ok, let’s move onto the show’s more solid points. Isabel Wrote Wright as ‘Old Wendy’ has a fine, expressive singing voice, particularly on ballads, as does her daughter, Jayne, as performed by Ilona Jade Errington, who also has a way with her comic lines, when they are ones with comic potential, that is. Ewan Somers is also entertaining as Captain Hook, though the overall timing is a bit off at times in scenes involving conversations. I put this down to press performance jitters and uneven directing more than anything else though, as it’s apparent Somers is up to task. Some of his interactions with Errington as Jayne are comic, especially in relation to why Hook has turned into a baddie, i.e. being expelled from Eton, because of a ‘misunderstanding’. If that doesn’t sound funny, trust me, it is as handled by these two promising young actors. I tried to gauge who was laughing repeatedly whenever certain actors spoke and quickly put that down to parents, but at times I was with them. Adam Wright is also comic as Hook’s ‘right hand’ (sorry, couldn’t resist), Smee, drawing laughs whenever he should have, as are some of the other pirates whose real identities alluded me in hindsight, due to the swiftly changing scenes and the abundance of names. Rachel Hastings, one of the youngest members of this cast, who range in age from about seven or eight to seventeen or eighteen, also makes a strong impression, as her presence and singing voice indicate that she has all the potential to make it ‘big’ one day. Ironic Hastings is playing a character named ‘Slightly.’ On the other hand, director Durham needs to tell his Peter Pan, David Leo to drop his polished accent, as Pan is nothing if not rough and tumble. The refined way Leo speaks just doesn’t work for the role. Likewise, composer/lyricist Jimmy Jewel needs to rethink his decision to rhyme ‘man’ with Pan, in one of the song’s the title character sings, as the character singing it is a boy who’ll never grow up!
In terms of the writing, there is potential here, and some of the songs, such as ‘Must Be Magic’ (especially in ensemble) do show promise, but overall the show has an ‘unfinished’ feel, and could do with reworking and more even direction. It’s my considered opinion that the show could benefit from more acting, and a little less signing. That said, it’s apparent that all those involved in this production, are on their way, either to new careers, perhaps away from theatre altogether eventually, or towards the bright lights of the West End and/or Broadway. Though destiny - as in hard work, determination, stamina and luck, hopefully, good, will reveal which path(s) they’ll traverse in time.
The band, made up of the off-stage five-some of Jimmy Jewell on Piano, Mike Edwards on Keys, Georgina Leaney on Flute, Kat Bax on Bass Guitar and Paul Gregory on Drum Kit do a fine job.
We (my companion and I) especially liked the ‘mother’ stand which keeps resurfacing and felt there is a lot of potential humour to be mined in that idea, (since the show is played as a farce) which is tapped into at times, but never fully enough. On the other hand, there are some moments which feel more like a drama class exercise than a performance, which is momentarily interesting, but couldn’t sustain the scenes they were seeking to support.
This musical functions best as a kind of showcase for young talent and everyone involved with it will be working very hard to pull it off, doing two shows a day right through Christmas Eve. It’d be a great production to take a child who dreams of going onstage to, as it would give them a good idea of the hard work involved in striving for that goal. And it is always fun to see a big musical like this staged in a small theatre like the Bridewell as you are always close to the action.
Those of us who love the story of Peter Pan will have to overlook certain liberties taken here, but after all, it is Christmas, the time of year when Aladdin, Dick Whittington and Peter Pan appear on stages, large and small all across the land, in all manner of incarnations.
http://www.stbridefoundation.org/bridewelltheatre/eveningperformance.html?eventId=141
EXTRA CHRISTMAS EVE PERFORMANCES AT 10:30AM and 1:00PM
Monday - Wednesday, 21 Dec - 23 Dec 2009
Performances at 19:30:00
Monday - Wednesday, 21 Dec - 23 Dec 2009
Matinée 15:00
Tickets £12.00
Concessions £9.50
Book online or call 020 7580 6793
ST BRIDE FOUNDATION
Bride Lane Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8EQ
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