You know you’re going to have a great night at the theatre when you arrive to take your seats, only to find pandemonium already taking place with the tech crew running around the auditorium making some very stressed last-minute preparations.
Photo © Pamela Raith Photography
After that, and a toe-curlingly awkward introduction from the director and assistant (or is it co-?) director, the show begins and we’re the incredulous witnesses of Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s increasingly cringeworthy and disastrous production of Peter Pan, the panto (or is it Christmas show?).
Peter Pan Goes Wrong gives us 2¼ hours of unrivalled pleasure and hilarity.
The formula – a stage production goes very wrong – is known to us from Noises Off and the Farndale farces, but production company Mischief Theatre surpassed these with the Play That Goes Wrong, and then trumped their own show with this follow-up, a hapless romp through the Darling household and Neverland.
To call this show a laugh-a-minute is to sell it short, and that is a stunning achievement in a show of over two hours.
Some of the gags – collapsing scenery, unsuccessful costume changes, failing flying wires – sound hackneyed, but Mischief Theatre are absolute masters of this brand of humour, and execute each gag with perfect timing and maximum impact, often while the actors stare motionless and bereft as each of their troupe falls victim to the next mishap.
Often the gags seem simple (skittles collapsing a little too late after they’ve been hit; Captain Hook struggling to open a poison bottle with his, um, hook), but they are all executed and timed perfectly, so that they impress just as much as more adventurous scenes (a bonkers UV scene under a lagoon; the climactic chase around an out-of-control revolve).
Director Adam Meggido keeps the pace relentless, the timing on point and the energy high, and Simon Scullion’s set is a real miracle of ingenuity and adaptability, though obviously more sumptuous than Cornley Polytechnic could ever afford.
The cast work seamlessly together and seem unflaggable, from Jack Michael Stacey’s pompous director and irritated Hook, through Jamie Birkett’s too-quick-to-be-happening costume changes as Mrs Darling and Lisa, via Theo Toksvig-Stewart’s endless bounciness even after a romantic upset, through Jake Burgum’s stage manager Trevor showing some impressive pratfalls and glutes, to Clark Devlin’s hapless and endlessly lost Dennis.
In truth, this is a genuine ensemble piece, thoroughly deserving of their rapturous applause and standing ovation at the end.
It’s a completely good-natured and laugh-out-loud night out, a perfect respite to these grim times, and one which will appeal to all ages as long as you possess funny bones. Give yourself – and your ribs – a genuine treat.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong is showing at Theatre Royal Bath until 11th November. Box office: 01225 448844
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
