Mayflower Theatre Southampton – until 4th January 2026
Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock
4****
Peter Pan is in Southampton and he needs your help to find the pixie dust keeping Neverland alive, in order to help him fly again! Captain Hook has mysteriously escaped the dreaded croc and is set on causing mayhem, stopping Peter and his friends, but with your help – I think Hook can be defeated!
Noah Harrison and Carly Joan Furlong as Peter and Tink lead the story, navigating us through Neverland to complete their mission. With multiple songs and brilliant dances, this duo are superb. Furlong is the perfect Tink, bringing magic and excitement, whilst Harrison is the epitome of Peter Pan – a little bit wild, but altogether magically charming. Alexandra Burke stars as Captain Hook – and my goodness does she play a perfect villain! She was revelling on stage and completely entrancing, with her magnificent vocals to boot, she is a perfect cast. With the added addition of some of her most well known songs (sung with Captain Hook’s flair!), it was hard to take your eyes off her on stage. Dr Ranj makes an appearance as the Magical Merman, one I was confused about prior to entering the auditorium but it quickly became clear as to why he was cast. He was elaborate, elegant and vocally he was extremely good! The star of the show for me however, was Max Fulham as Smee, accompanied by his monkey friend Gordon. These two were incredibly funny, with Fulham having me believe that Gordon was an independent person as he used his fabulous ventriloquism skills to entertain the audience. At points, I was unable to comprehend how he was doing it, he certainly is a master of his craft. He managed to get the audience onside within a split second and kept us completely engaged until the very end-it was truly magical!
As always, the costumes in Mayflower Pantomimes are mind blowing. From Crossroads Pantomimes, they are the perfect mix of pantomime camp, sequins, glittering and extravagance!
This is a perfect example of pantomime and one that will have you and your family entranced. The songs are modern and easy to recognise, the audience participation is just as expected (and even better!) but above all, the entire company looked as if they were enjoying every second-there was not a moment on stage when a smile quivered or dropped, it was superb! A definite add on to your Christmas Plans this year!