Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a production by Mischief Theatre. The writers of the play are Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, all core members of Mischief Theatre Company. The three’s first piece of writing “The Play That Goes Wrong” was a huge success netting the trio the “Best New Comedy” at the Olivier Awards as well as WhatsOnStage Award of the same name. It has been a huge success and is still running in the West End and on Broadway.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong opened in November 2014 for a UK tour and then went to the West End in Christmas 2015. I for one was glad to see the show back on tour and not losing any of it’s energy and flair.
The show is fantastic comedy, farce in style with a heavy input of slapstick comedy. From start to finish I was full-on belly-laughing. The precision of the physical comedy to the superb comic timing left myself and the whole audience in hysterics.
From the moment I walked into the theatre, “Trevor” the Stage Manager is trying to sort a socket for the electricals. A large wire is passed through the audience to reach a socket at the back. Obviously the socket does not work much to the annoyance of “Cassie” and “Naomi” the assistant stage managers. The narrator is wandering around making balloon animals, the “Co-Director” is chasing a reluctant performer and Peter Pan is walking around signing autographs. The action was all around you and there was always something or someone to watch. The tone of the piece is very much set by everything going on around you and audience participation is demanded.
The set is a character in itself. It rotates throughout the performance to show The Darlings home, the Lagoon in NeverLand, the Lost Boys' hideout and the Pirates' Ship. Inevitably things constantly go wrong with the set such as the beds falling on the Darling children. Sparks are constantly flying from the electrics on the set and scenery falls easily and quite often on the performers' heads. The set truly evokes the humour in the final scenes of the performance where it constantly turns from location to location and the performers are forced to perform as if on a merry-go-round. This inevitably leads to many falls, lots of accidental hitting and general mayhem. The scenes were reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy and held the same style of humour.
The performance that impressed me the most was by Tom Babbage as Max. His bumbling performance and looks of sheer excitement to the audience brought a sweetness to the character. He really connected with the audience and we rooted for him. This was very obvious when the whole audience cheered as he finally got the girl!
Romayne Andrews as Dennis had impeccable comedy timing. As the character who was hearing his lines through headphones he delivered the lines deadpan but the breaks in the lines created hilarious results as he spewed-out all that was going on backstage.
It is clear to see why this play has had such a long run previously and why the writers have received so much praise. I can honestly say I have not laughed so hard in a long time. It was such a silly, energetic and comical play that is light-hearted fun.
The standing ovation the actors received at the end of the performance was well deserved. I would see this play again tomorrow if I could. I genuinely enjoyed every minute.
Reviewer - Francesca Eager
on - 21/1/20
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