The Lowry Salford – until 7 December 2019
Reviewed by Carla Whittaker
3***
I had the opportunity to watch the opening night of Peter Pan Goes Wrong which is the most recent offering from the Mischief Theatre Company who are the company responsible for the smash hit production of The Play That Goes Wrong. It is probably right to say that, very few play directors want the production they are involved in to go wrong every night. But, Henry Lewis the man behind Peter Pan Goes Wrong wants exactly that! The Mischief Theatre Company play the members of Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society who are putting on a production of JM Barrie’s pantomime favourite Peter Pan which as you can imagine doesn’t go quite to plan.
From the moment you walk into the theatre audience participation is encouraged with the cast mingling and engaging with the audience resulting in mishaps as the cast search for the stage managers missing hammer. It is safe to stay that everything which could go wrong will go wrong thick and fast, sometimes predictable such as broken sets, broken legs, falls/slips but at other times not – technical glitches, forgotten lines and the sudden collapse of the children’s bunk beds crushing Michael and John leaves the audience in stitches with loud screams of laughter.
The show starts with multiple mis-starts with Katy Daghorn appearing on stage with an exaggerated and enthusiastic portrayal of Wendy/Sandra, which is then followed by Ciaran Kellgren in his portrayal as Jonathan/Peter who flies on to the stage; chaotically, resulting in a broken set and nearly breaking his neck. As the production goes on, the injuries and mishaps pile up with all cast members taking centre stage. Phoebe Ellabani was outstanding with versatility playing four amusing roles with quick costume changes.
The show has a low cost, low budget feel; a one-way dog door, Tinkerbell’s fairy light skirt with an extension lead which electrocutes her, the wonky pirate ship and hand made feel of the set. At times I felt, the show was too chaotic and ‘too much’ with the deliberate errors wearing thin towards the end but the audience seemed to love it; I have never heard so much laughter during a theatre production. The finale was a perfect conclusion with the cast chaotically trapped in the revolving stage whilst everything falls apart around them which adds to the mayhem. It was great to see the stage crew come on stage at the end for bows as for things to go purposely wrong is a work of art.
If you want some light hearted comedy and laughter get your tickets for Peter Pan Goes Wrong which is on at The Lowry until the 7th December.