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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre: Reviews |
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Theatre listings > J M Barrie's Peter
Pan.
Bunny Christie's sets and added theatrical effects enhance the dreamlike quality of the play. When it first opens in the Darling children's bedroom there's toy tall ship on the floor, a Red Indian headdress and a small dolls house in the loft and on the wall a kite. They all appear later, heightening the way dreams weave in things from the waking world and help to keep soft reins on the fright factor of this play for children. The island and the rock and the ship are all created as if by children from bed clothes, and nursery chairs . But for adults and teenagers the darker resonances of Barrie's masterpiece are still allowed to sing out clear. When we meet the Lost Boys, Slightly, William Barlow, Nibs, Mark Kane and Tootles, Steven Blakeley, all contain the unsettling echoes of the boy soldiers lost in the mud of the Somme, part labelled evacuees and part lost refugees. A wee but strong pink light gives us the wonderful fairy Tinkerbell flitting from finger to drawer to tiny house, so young and old rush to clap, for how can we not believe in fairies. Emily Pollet's Wendy is the warm hearted girl on the threshold of the journey into adulthood, Ben Thompson is her brother John with that solidity so you know his destiny is safe but dull. Thompson copes well with the trickiness Paterson has created in attempting to retain some of the other brother Michael so his age wobbles from just less old than Wendy to a teddy bear carrying toddler. I wish finances could ensure theatres today could have both brothers, Michael's innocence is an important thread in Barrie's many stranded pattern. Irene MacDougal is their beautiful Mama, bringing tears to our eyes as she longs beyond hope for the return of the children. As the boy we all want to be at times especially the adults Kevin Lennon's Peter Pan is a performance to crow about. As he fingers his pan pipes and dawdles on the Darling's windowledge taking leave of Wendy you see the feral creature he is named after. John Buick is a fine Smee, the only main character who disappoints is Captain Hook, the pirate captain's a dangereous, charismatic man who can be very foolish at time. Richard Clews's Hook is never frightening or full blooded enough, his Mr Darling is much more convincing. This play captured me for theatre at the age of three, it has never lost its complex magic despite some productions, a musical and an attempt to do it with disastrous doubling, has left me shaking with rage for such vilelations (sic). Hill's, designer Christie's and Paterson's visions of this magical classic keep the complex heart of the original. In there a mother encourages her children to die for their countries or to grow up like their father, and Peter left tied on a rock to drown shouts defiantly "To die would be an awfully big adventure" as the sound of waves merges into that of war. As John says he enjoyed killing a pirate, or Peter talks of his unloving mother the deep and difficult themes of Barrie's play again pull us up short. In our weak-livered current culture, too absurdly protective of children, we deny them the fascination of adult and dark mysteries and the opportunities to explore them in stories and in entertainments before confronting them in real life. This production by keeping rue to the original shines a celebratory and revelatory light on a play which, like its namesake, is forever full of the zest and energy of youth © Thelma Good 5 December 2003. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Cast: John - Ben Thompson, Nana/Cecco - Keith Fleming, Mrs Darling, Bill Jukes/Grown Up Wendy - Irene Macdougall, Peter Pan - Kevin Lennon, Wendy/Jane - Emily Pollet, Mr Darling/Captain Hook - Richard Clews, Liza/Tiger Lily - Emily Winter, Slightly - William Barlow, Nibs/Skylights Morgan - Mark Kane, Tootles - Steven Blakeley, Smee - John Buick and Starkey - Robert Patterson. Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Theatre listings >
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JM Barrie's Peter Pan - Dundee Rep Ensemble Company Production.