Peter Pan - National Theatre & Troubadour Theatre 2019

Peter Pan Goes Wrong..?

THe last time they did Peter Pan it had Ian McKellen as Hook, Jenny Agutter as Mrs Darling, Claudie Blakley as Wendy and, I think Daniel Evans as Peter. It was ace.

Saw this one on Wednesday.

There were lots of things I liked, and lots of things I vehemently disliked. However, I'd say the overall effect of the evening was positive. I love all things Peter Pan, so it was a pleasure to see the story told in a such a unique way.

My 2 specific qualms were (1) the songs and (2) Tinkerbell. Regarding the songs, there were just too many of them for a show that isn't meant to be a full-on musical. They tended to stop the action and add very little of value to the show, and personally I just didn't find them to be very well-written at all. There were 2 notable exceptions, however - both in Act 2. I also found the portrayal of Tinkerbell to be thoroughly unfunny, so much so that I cringed every time (s)he was onstage. I've loved Peter Pan since I was a very small child, and I've seen many retellings of it. This was the first time I considered not clapping to bring Tinkerbell back to life (ultimately, I did clap anyway - I will ALWAYS clap for Tinkerbell - but man was I reluctant). Those were my two specific problems. More generally, there were also just some moments that fell flat and/or dragged a bit (understandable for early previews of a devised piece)

HOWEVER, there is a lot about this production that I really liked a lot. There are some gorgeous moments of staging, many laugh-out-loud sections, and a fun quirky energy throughout. The ending had me full-on crying (though Peter Pan tends to make me cry quite easily).

I enjoyed this quite a bit more than Jane Eyre, which I found to be extremely tedious and pretentious. I think Peter Pan inherently lends itself to devised theatre infinitely better than Jane Eyre.

Anna Francolini was weak as Hook - maybe she will improve by press night and I realise she is replacing Sophie Thompson. The best performance was Madeleine Worrall as Wendy - touching and natural. Paul Hinton as Peter was way too old. Over all didn't enjoy it as much as I expected (I loved Jane Eyre.)

I know it's Cookson's style but with the National's resources I'm getting a bit fed up with The Olivier default production style of 'let's put the show on the road right here.'

I believe that Sophie Thompson had been very involved in the characterisation of Hook in the lead up to the production before breaking her wrist so it's no surprise that (however admirably she's done it) Anna Francolini hasn't settled into the role yet.

When the RSC did Wendy & Peter that was billed as a kids/family show. That clocked in at one hundred and fifty mins. This makes PP a short show

Children's shows are usually short.

But family shows, such as Peter Pan, are often more narrative-based than most theatre, and hence quite long!

exactly, but I remember the NT equivalent being so dreary and lacking in pace, and being consumed by the technology. At the barbican it was glorious.

Saw this last night & am still not sure what to make of it - i was front row to the side and a lot of it is directed to create a bigger image that just wasn't visible to us. I'm a huge Pan fan and helt this missed....something? Maybe the heart? I'm going again in January sitting at the back & am looking forward to seeing the flying sequence from there - tho worried i'll hear even less of Hook's lines then, unless her diction improves...

The second act clocks in at a very entertaining 60 minutes or so but the opening act is an exceptionally dull 80 minutes - it needs something to give it a bit of zip as for the first hour or so, its just there and apparently doing nothing more than going through the motions to get to the interval.

Some pruning here and there, less songs (the only decent one being a Carpenters tune) and totally revamp the concept behind Tinker Bell and it may just work that bit better.

As it stands its just a bang average show.

Saw this yesterday afternoon (well I say I saw it , I bailed at the interval due to the general ineptitude of the show and everyone involved, combined with the drunken retard sat next to me in the front row) and I have to say this was possibly the worst show I've ever seen on a West End stage. Every time I thought 'surely this can't get any worse' they managed to go that little bit further and prove that it could indeed be achieved. Good luck to anyone who has booked to see this, I hope you can pick some positive points from the wreckage.