Blue Genie Entertainment Ltd. Present
Peter Pan
Whitley Bay Playhouse
Until
Saturday 5th January 2019
Ticket sales are up at the Playhouse for its panto for a very good
reason – it delivers consistently a high quality entertaining show that is for
the whole family. Good value for money coupled with a safe, entertaining and
funny panto that works for all ages is no mean feat. How many other
shows can boast a loud cheer for the arrival of a bench?
Peter Pan is
a show that understands how to get the younger members of the audience
involved. Earlier in the week I was at a gig at another venue stood next to the
speakers and, trust me, the audience shouts at the Playhouse tonight were
frequently louder. Central to this activity is Playhouse’s regular
comic Steve Walls and, surprisingly comfortable playing the bad guy, is boy
band Blue’s Antony Costa.
Steve is successful at getting the kids screaming their hearts
out. He makes you feel a part of an extended gang – the Playhouse regulars.
This is a panto that is happy to reference previous productions.
Anthony Costa is unusual – a star name who made his name away from
theatre but he understands the mechanics of panto well. Walk on, encourage the
booing then deliver the killer line to increase the volume of boos. A panto
natural. Of course he holds the trump card when the show ends with a Blue
megamix that gets the audience off their seats and dancing away like it is 2001.
This is also a panto that sticks to the job of telling a story,
naturally with a few twists here and there.
After an opening number which had the Darling children dancing in
the streets of London in their pyjamas, Mrs Darling (Sarah Fox) asks Patsy
(Daniel Mawston) to get the children ready for bed. This was the only
appearance of the acrobatic Nana the dog, which was a shame as it could bust
some moves.
The boys are being rotated between each show and tonight we had the
red team comprising of Adam Stephenson as Michael and Reuben Elsworth as John
Darling – both lads putting in a performance more mature than their young age
suggests. Completing the family set is, of course older sister Wendy – Jessica
Pease successfully transitioning from youthful antics at bed time to almost
maternal instincts with the Lost Boys.
As they sleep, in flies Peter Pan (Sam Ebenezer) – the boy who
refuses to grow up. Sam returns to the Playhouse and he keeps his composure as
he is suspended above the stage. This is one show that relies on the backstage
team heavily and they are kept busy keeping Sam bouncing around. Flyman Ben
Straton has his work cut out. This is a show with a number of projected effects
too.
Peter teaches the children to fly and off they go to Neverland to
meet the Lost Boys and to annoy the pirates.
The bad guys are an essential part of panto and Daniel Mawston
returns as Pirate Patsy – it is unusual to see the panto dame playing one of
the bad guys. She supports the formidable Captain Hook (Antony Costa), his
right hand man Smee (Steve Walls) and Starkey (Ben Hanson). This
entourage are out to destroy Peter Pan and they capture Tiger Lilly (Mary J
Proud) as snare a trap. Will Peter outwit the crew of the Jolly
Roger?
J. M. Barrie’s story is timeless and captures a certain charm. It
has been covered by Disney but doesn’t suffer too much with any direct
comparisons. Writer and director Paul Ferguson understands the need
to not over complicate the narrative and also to stick to it without too many
irrelevant diversions. The Whitley Bay panto attracts a younger
crowd so the jokes are kept safe, the storyline is kept straightforward and the
show sticks to 2 hours plus interval – so it isn’t too long. Producer Gary
Telfer knows his audience and ensures the show delivers.
The show has a number of song and dance routines. The songs are
more modern than some shows this season and, of course includes that Shark
number. Teams of young dancers, under the careful choreography of Alison
Hefferon, fill the stage with colour and energy.
Peter Pan is a fun panto that really hit a high gear in Act 2 –
the jokes seemed to land better, the audience were louder in their interactions
and the bench made an appearance. How many shows use a photo of a bench in their
social media publicity? Regulars of the Playhouse panto know that when the
bench appears it is time for the classic take off scene. A couple of families
left immediately afterwards – had they come just to see the bench and sing
Ghostbusters?
Whitley Bay, once again, has a good panto with a great cast that
set out to entertain the crowd. Antony Costa appears to love his role as Hook.
Daniel Mawston plays a great dotty dame, Ben Hanson feeds the lines as the
comic’s sidekick and of course comic Steve Walls is central to the heart beat
of the performance. Sam Ebenezer and Jessica Pearse are delightful as the good
guys and the children work hard and are charming. Through in the enthusiastic
dancers and we have the makings of a great panto. Blue Genie have done it again
and pulled off a fun, good value family panto.
Review by Stephen Oliver
Photos: Steve Brock
Photos: Steve Brock
Tickets start from £15 are on sale now.
Tickets are available from the Box Office: open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10.30am – 2.30pm and until show start on event days. Tickets can also be purchased online from our affiliates Ticketmaster UK http://bit.ly/PlayhousePETERPAN.
Tickets are available from the Box Office: open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10.30am – 2.30pm and until show start on event days. Tickets can also be purchased online from our affiliates Ticketmaster UK http://bit.ly/PlayhousePETERPAN.
Fantastic show this afternoon could not stop laughing I am a carer so I was there with work. You were all fantastic Steve you are such a laugh so was Anthony from blue
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