Tuesday, 16th January 2023 at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mischief Comedy strike gold yet again with the hilarious Peter Pan Goes Wrong, a top notch farce full of surprises led by an excellent cast. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, this show: “Cornley Youth Theatre” are putting on a production of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan (which may or may not be a panto), and things go very wrong, leading to a fantastic parade of ever-escalating chaos.
Barrie’s story is pretty ripe for farce and satire, and writers Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields deliver on all things: character-driven gags, running gags, slapstick, crossed wires and comic spectacle. The comedy around such things is plentiful, but the real hilarity lies in the desperate attempts of this am dram troupe to go on with the show while navigating the calamities befalling them by the second. It’s very clever writing which leans whole-heartedly towards the ridiculous and it makes for an irresistibly silly show.
Simon Scullion’s set (all on a revolve) swiftly provides various locations and shenanigans as unsuspecting cast members suddenly find themselves spotlit for all to see – and paves the way for many of the funny revelations as the tale unfolds. Most impressive of all though is the combined feat of Scullion’s designs and Adam Meggido’s direction in the high-energy, high-stakes finale sequence. Suffice to say, this show is so packed with gags that there’s neither time nor space for dullness!
And this production really does boast an exceptionally funny cast. Jack Michael Stacey leads the charge as highly strung director Chris Bean, Mr Darling and Captain Hook, offering up both silent and roaring tantrums which are face-clutchingly funny. Jean-Luke Worrell’s Francis is a delight as the flamboyant and very charismatic narrator, while Matthew Howell’s Robert provides a fantastic gaggle of characters; it’s actually difficult to pick his best turn…. the immobile Nana? The inappropriately sensual Shadow? The drawling pirate, Starkey? They’re all gold.
Jamie Birkett masters the quick-change gag as Mrs Darling, maid Lisa and Tinker Bell, bringing some great physicality to the table, and Clark Devlin is a diamond: hoiking belly laughs from an audience just by standing still, so brilliant are his deer-in-headlights/ vacant stares as the utterly unprepared Dennis – who shamelessly has his lines as John and Smee fed to him. Ciara Morris’ Sandra fabulously shows how teen drama can interfere with extra-curricular activities, and plays Wendy Darling with rib-tickling conviction despite the madness surrounding her.
Gareth Tempest’s Jonathan plays Peter Pan as a twinkle-eyed scamp and, along with Jake Burgum’s hilariously oblivious stage hand Trevor, he thrills with wild displays of exactly why airborne acting is probably best left to better prepared productions… Rosemarie Akwafo warms hearts as sweet little Lucy who must overcome stage fright, and Theo Toksvig-Stewart’s Max is an endearingly over-eager type, milking his roles of Michael and The Crocodile for every drop of stage time while also coveting a better role – both on stage and behind the scenes…
When cracking comedy writing meets a cast as talented as this, it’s a show well worth seeing – I can’t wait to see what Mischief Comedy get up to next!
Peter Pan Goes Wrong is at Leeds Grand theatre until January 20th, 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.
Always Time For Theatre 