Aylesbury Waterside Theatre – until 5th January 2025
Reviewed by Susan Portman
5*****
It’s panto time and Christmas only ever begins at the Waterside theatre in Aylesbury. I attended with my husband and two friends one of which was a seven-year-old girl who would be better qualified than any adult to describe the events of the evening but let me have a try!
The official press release says this: Starring Bradley Riches, best known for playing James McEwan in Netflix’s Heartstopper, as well as appearing alongside Sharon Osbourne, David Potts and Louis Walsh on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother 2024, Bradley is flying into the Waterside in good company with panto favourite Andy Collins playing Smee and soap star Mark Moraghan (Coronation Street, Holby City, Brookside) playing the villainous Captain Hook!
Join Peter, Smee, Tinker Bell, Emily Darling and Ethyl the Mermaid on a brand-new adventure full of audience interaction, incredible flying effects, giggles galore and … of course, crocodiles! After defeating the evil Captain Hook and his pirate crew, life has been pretty uneventful for Peter Pan. But when a stranger arrives in Neverland, he is forced to question his past and face his future. Will Peter ever grow up? Are the rumours true that Hook is back?!
The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook promises an action-packed adventure not to be missed.
So did it go for me on the night?
What do we want from a panto? Plenty of colour, innuendo, gags and laughs. We demand a flamboyant dame, improbable costumes, a baddie who should be booed each time they appear on stage and some great music and stage props to boot. Did I forget the cast and crew?
Peter Pan has it all except, curiously there is no dame. This would usually be unthinkable, but bear with me. There was no requirement for a dame in this production. The story unfolded naturally and the characters were spot on. It wasn’t the ‘dame’ sort of panto but with Andy Collins involved, the audience as usual had all they could want and more
The first act began with Peter Pan (Bradley Riches) Tinkerbell (on skates) played brilliantly by Leanne Garty and Mrs. Darling/Mermaid played by Emma Jay Thomas setting the scene.
Where was Peter Pan?,
Was Captain Hook alive or dead. More characters appeared? Emily appeared (played by Maeve Byrne) at this early stage we witnessed the magic of fairy dust and the ability to fly when it is carefully sprinkled!
There were three pirates, ably played by Tristan Crabtree, Shane Hampden and Jack Robbins who would change their allegiance as the story unravelled from good guys to baddies and good again. I found Hampden to be particularly engaging and I warmed to his part the most. And then there is Andy Collins, a local actor and star of every pantomime in Aylesbury. He played the part of ‘Smee’ a loveable halfwit who becomes the slave to Hook but in the end, to the delight of the audience is crowned Ship’s Captain himself.
As the drama unfolds we witness a highly professional and captivating stage set with super-creative backdrops and lighting, accompanied with great flair and precision by the band who played their hearts out tonight. The play follows the traditional route of characters ‘revealing’ who they are to the audience as we witnessed the interrelationships unfold both as characters and actors in their own right.
As the storyline goes, Peter Pan had already defeated Captain Hook once – but were rumours that he was alive and coming back actually true? They were indeed and when Hook appears he does so to the accompaniment of a thunderbolt with scary lightning which made my young companion (Francesca) jump out of her skin. There he was – the baddie. Hook was dressed in a Black and silver coat, Black wig and that evil hook prominent and menacing. The booing had begun, though the crowd were slow to give him a tough time, probably because he looked so magnificent for such a malevolent figure.
I should say that all of the costumes were top notch, amongst the best I have ever seen in panto. Not just the main cast but the supporting child dancers, (ensemble) guests and pirates.
It would be a while before Hook and Peter Pan would meet – and fight – but until then we witnessed Hook anoint himself as captain of the Jolly Roger, steal Smee’s mates as crew and go in search of Peter Pan. In between, several beautiful stage sets appear and the characters develop through word and song. All of the main characters sang and all had excellent voices. I was particularly impressed with Maeve Byrne’s fantastic repertoire and she could surely be an opera singer. For me Leanne Garrety was as good and I must comment that being able to sing, remember her lines and choreography and do all of this on skates was quite astonishing, not to mention flawless. In some ways she stole the show.
Bradley Riches starring as Peter Pan was also excellent and he portrayed his character in such as way as to point out to the audience that Pan was greatly troubled – not just the fairy child in the stories but that he was also like any child who never wants to grow up – impudent, temperamental and quite frankly capricious, but one could feel for him and his gentle heart. Riches delivered a lovely performance using subtlety and power in equal measure
Mark Moraghan was a marvellous Captain Cook. His voice carried well, with just the right amount of ‘threat’ in his tone so as not to scare the kids completely but also let the adults decide if they liked his villainous outlook or not. As I said, I thought the audience gave him an easy time tonight for some reason, and even he picked up on this. Anyway, he gave a winning and impeccable performance and J.M Barrie would have been proud of him.
The characters continued to develop their roles and develop a bond with the audience. Emma Jay Thomas, as the mermaid seemed to be the glue that held several scenes nicely together, and testament to how good she was can be told through the eyes of my erstwhile young friend who asked if she really was a mermaid. Her young dancing companions in one scene looked magnificent dressed as different species of fish and she really did give a fine performance.
We were treated to a very clever and enjoyable gymnastic display which though not on an Olympic level was as good as anything I have seen live. It took great energy and doubtless many hours of practice and the choreography with this and throughout the show were amazing.
Andy Collins is a gem and I for one would never wish to witness a panto at Aylesbury without him. His skill, energy and natural talent for acting are unequalled by any I have ever seen in pantomime. This is his arena, and we absolutely adore him. Where to start? He has so many costume changes, brilliant one-liners, moments of interaction with the crowd and the legendary and unrivalled water fights, traditional at any panto. I do not refer to a couple of little pistols here. No, what I am taking about is a man in a wet suit – hooked up and hoisted in the air above the audience – jetting over our heads armed with two big nerf guns, letting fly with all he has. It is a soak-fest and he gets as good as he gives as the kids reveal an array of their own colourful weapons, hitherto concealed underneath their coats ready for the big moment. It is hilarious, it is enthralling – it is pantomime.
We are also treated to the annual rendition of the twelve days of Christmas where items are thrown into the audience and Collins exits the stage to wade unceremoniously into the audience in order to try to retrieve the goodies. This is also hilarious, as each time he approaches, an audience member throws the (in this case) toilet rolls around so he cannot catch it. It’s a hoot and you probably won’t find this at any other panto. Thankfully it is not stifled by self-imposed health and safety regulations and everyone just goes for it.
Then there was a lovely moment towards the end when he pulled four youngsters out to help sing along with the audience and they all offered their best ‘pirates roar’ to proceedings. The smallest of these kids – George – melted our hearts and Collins was masterful at getting the best out of them all, as they were well rewarded with goodie bags.
The usual corny sounds of burping or farting and slapstick cameo scenes brought howls of laughter, especially from a few youngsters around me and this infected the adults who also couldn’t hold back.
Credit must be extended to the director and technical staff for the lighting and the set and to the musicians for their professionalism as we all sang various well-known numbers throughout the performance. The wardrobe was top notch and the Director, Chris Nelson must be congratulated on the production on what I think is the best of all Pantomimes I have yet seen.
Peter Pan truly came alive tonight and the performance provided their own unique take on how Barrie would have seen this magical figure when he wrote the story back in 1902. This story of a little boy who never grew up reminds us all that we should, nay must, retain some sense of youth and magic in our lives. Might we see Pan somewhere in the sky during the next blue moon? Who knows?
Bravo to the Riverside Theatre Aylesbury for a first-class production. It is a 5 star show for me and I implore people to watch it and give themselves the Christmas cheer and magic that they deserve. Merry Christmas.