REVIEW: Peter Pan - Gargrave Pantomime thrills audience

This was a good choice, as it offered many and varied parts for a big cast of all ages and levels of experience.

It includes a pantomime dame (the Indian Squaw Laughing Water), comic dialogue and plenty of singing and dancing.

This makes the story altogether lighter, funnier and far less disturbing than the rather dark original stage version of the J.M. Barrie novel.

From the beginning, with the dramatic entrance of Captain Hook from the back of the auditorium, and a rousing rendition of ‘I am a Pirate King’ to the grand finale chorus of ‘We are Family’, we were treated to a gripping performance.

The production moved fast and smoothly. Scenes were changed slickly, with action in front of the curtain while the stage was being changed behind, and each scene change revealed a well-designed set. Great care and skill had clearly been put into the costumes.

In pantomime, it is the comic characters that make or break the show, and Edward Munday as Laughing Water and Peter Poulter as the reluctant villain, Smee, did a an excellent job.

The interplay between the bullying and pedantic Starkey and Smee in the first part of the show worked very well, as did the burgeoning relationship between Smee and Laughing Water as the story developed.

Laughing Water’s rock routine in dark glasses with an inflatable guitar was hilarious.

Duncan Faulkner, cast as the villain again, played the vain, cruel but ultimately cowardly Captain Hook to great effect – and this time was given a chance to sing.

Grace Barnes, back in role of principal boy after a stint as princess last year, played his nemesis, Peter Pan.

Her performance was confident, and put over both the charm and poignancy of the character.

Laura Lipscombe as Mrs Darling gave us one of the most memorable moments of the show with her lovely performance of ‘A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes’. Murmurings of appreciation in the audience were audible.

There was some fine ensemble work among the performers playing the Darling children and the Lost Boys.

Wendy conveyed a motherly concern for the children placed in her care as well as reluctance to take on the role; John was suitably eccentric, and Michael funny.

The Lost Boys each projected an individual character, from the voluble and cheeky Slightly to the somewhat taciturn Curley.

Tinker Bell’s jealousy and spite came through as well as her cuteness -- her dancing was one of the highlights of the show.

Tiger Lily’s performance showed both the courage and the vulnerability of the character.

The Crocodile – rather like the Roc last year – was delightfully silly, and got a laugh at each appearance, whilst the Red Eagle totem of the Redskin tribe began to develop a personality of its own with its miming antics.

As usual with the Gargrave pantomimes, the dance routines were a large part of the whole and for this production, seemed well integrated into the action.

A decision to include ‘Crocodile Rock’ rather than ‘Never Smile at a Crocodile’ provided a lively scene early on in the show, and later we were treated to a fairy dance by some of the smaller performers, a group of minions building the Wendy house, a spirited hornpipe on the pirate ship, and a rather atmospheric skeleton dance in Dead Man’s Bay.

Some other scenes also benefited from some slick choreography, like the one when the pirates abducted the children one by one as they emerged from the cave.

There was one scene which I felt could have been handled a little differently, and that was the one where Tinker Bell, in order to save his life, drinks the poison left for Peter.

The children are then urged to clap if they believe in fairies to save Tinker Bell.

This scene was taken quite fast and without much dramatic build-up and became a little lost in the whole.

It did not matter much as there were many other opportunities for audience participation in the performance.

All in all, another success for the Gargrave Pantomime Group, and I look forward to next year’s offering.

- Gillian Faulkner