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Peter Pan. - Tour.
Choreographer And Director – David Nixon.
Set and Lighting Designer – Peter Mumford.
Composer – Stephen Warbeck.
Co-Director - Patricia Doyle.
Assistant Designer - Ali Allen.
Flight Directors - Adam Searle & Jez Wingham of Flying by Foy.
Prop Developers/makers - Ali Allen, David Couchi and Naomi Parker.
Dancers - here .
Company – Northern Ballet Theatre – Company
Website.
Venues and Dates - 22 - 26 Feb 2005 Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Website. then
Tour
details.
Run Time – 2 hours and 10 minutes. One interval.
Reviewer – Thelma Good.
Swords, dance and flying....quite a combination!
Peter Pan - Nothern
Ballet Theatre Production.
Wendy - Pippa More, Michael - Simon Kidd and John - Christopher
Hinton - Lewis.
© Linda Rich 2005.
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Last time they came to Scotland the Northern Ballet Theatre brought a
heady A Midsummer Night's Dream (review),
set on the London - Edinburgh sleeper. This time David Nixon brings his
version of the enduring play Peter Pan, to a new score by Stephen Warbeck,
his first ballet composition. Barrie's play is in its centenary year,
and astonishingly Northern Ballet Theatre is the nearest you can get to
a full stage production of the original play that has seduced many generations
to loving theatre best.
Will David Nixon's ballet Peter Pan do the same for dance? It certainly
contains equal attraction for boys and girls of any age. There's Peter Pan
himself, flying over the stage, fighting his arch enemy and alter-ego Captain
Hook and crowing like a cock. It's a highly demanding role for a dancer,
rarely off the stage, requiring and receiving incredible control and precision
from Christian Broomhall. David Kierde's Captain Hook moves commandingly,
while at one point his crew heavily groggy dance a woozy sailor's hornpipe.
But none of them are slouches when they fight the Lost Boys, swords, dance
and flying is quite a combination!
When the ballet opens
Peter is discovered in the Darling children's bedroom and he leaves his
shadow behind. As a scene, it only works for those very familiar with
the story, as the dancer who is Shadow doesn't enter with Peter but appears
only at the moment he is separate from him and too quickly shelters under
a bed. This isn't the only time the ballet could confuse those not familiar
with the original, but not its enough to seriously detract - though you
may lookup the original text when you get home.
The choreography for the children Wendy, John and Michael gives them attraction
and a real mischievous edge, one Nana the dog also shares all the way
to the final curtain. There are times when Stephen Warbeck's music and
Nixon's steps create special moments from the children's innocent play,
their encounter with the flying Peter, the Scottish themed music for Peter
and Wendy's waltz which conveys their wondering about one another but
the gem of them all is the mermaids. Fishy movement, long blonde hair
and dressed in tight leg clinging long dresses with iridescent frilly
hems, their dance is siren like in its seduction.
Occasional the pace of the production slows, sometimes due to tricky set
or costume changes, certainly when you have dancers aloft care needs to
be taken, but perhaps some in front of the curtain fillers wouldn't go
amiss. The dances and music sometimes convey less than they might - Peter
left to have his "Awfully Big Adventure", the dance of the Neverbird
and those moments when the play has you tearful aren't quite achieved.
And Tiger Lily never appears nor the Indians which means a new route through
the story.
And Tinkerbell? You do get to believe in fairies and to save her life.
And you can really see her in this production. Only for a moment do we
get a laser light, a suitable green rather than the frequent red, and
then there she is tiny, with fluttering shining wings and a nippy attitude.
The human flyers, all three Darling children as well as Peter Pan, being
dancers move with a skill and alacrity. A treat that recalls those magnificent
stagings that starred Lockwood mother and daughter as Peter in the 40's
and 50's.
The ballet's doing its premiere tour and it's worth seeing now but, with
some tweaks and revisions, it could make this reviewer crow more.
©Thelma Good 22 February 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Dancers seen on 22 February 2005 - Peter Pan
- Christian Broomhall, Wendy - Pippa More, John - Christopher Hinton -
Lewis, Michael - Simon Kidd, Mrs Darling/Neverbird - Natalie Leftwich,
Mr Darling/Captain Hook - David Kierce, Nana - Victoria Sibson, Tinker
Bell - Hannah Bateman, Shadow - Ashley Dixon, Liza (Maid) - Christie Duncan,
Lion/Crocodile - Sebastian Loe, Wolf/Corcodile/Bird - Martin Bell, Mermaids
- Victoria Lane Green, Ginnie Ray, Julie Charlet, Michela Paolacci, Desire
Samaai, Keira Schwartz, Sarah Kundi and Natalie Leger.
and The Lost Boys - Tootles - John Hull, Twins - Ayana Kanda and Chiaki
Nagao, Slightly - Patrick Howell, Nibbs - Hironao Takahashi and Curly
- Georgina May.
and The Pirates - Jukes/Bird - Kenneth Tindall, Cecco - Mark Biocca, Smee
- Darren Goldsmith, Starkey - Steven Wheeler, Noodler - Andrew Davidson,
Millins - Martha Leebolt, Alf/Bird Amy Johnson and Cookson/Bird - Catherine
Royce.
Tour Details of Northern Ballet Theatre's production
of Peter Pan.
Tour continues
22 - 26 Feb at Edinburgh Festival Theatre 0131 529 6000.
31 March - 10 April at London Sadlers Wells 0870 737 7737.
10 - 14 May at Manchester The Palace Theatre 0870 401 3000.
Tour ends.
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