Review: Peter Pan and the Lost Marbles, Phoenix Players, Stratford Methodist Church

Peter Pan and the Lost Marbles, Phoenix Players, Stratford Methodist Church

Review By Hedli Niklaus

WHAT a buzz! Baz Stilinski’s reworking of Peter Pan took us onto a completely different journey and we hadn’t a clue as to what would happen next.

Here, jealous Tinkerbell steals Peter Pan’s marbles with dire consequences: the Lost Boys grow up! Peter remains a boy but can no longer fly and there are twists and turns galore aided by a host of characters, some of whom you may not wish to meet on a dark night.

We have a sinister Captain Hook, aided and abetted by his two henchmen Smee and Starkey while Snappy the alligator has disappeared and we are told to take care. The once beauteous mermaid Athena now sports a beard, and her lagoon is set on fire! Wendy Darling and her brothers wind up in Captain Hook’s scary prison, Tinkerbell drinks poison meant for Peter, and all is poised on a knife edge of a disaster. Needless to say, the story ends happily but not before Peter reminds all children not to want to grow up too quickly.

The production was all the more remarkable because for various good reasons members of the cast dropped out like flies. Right up to a week before First Night actors were changing, costume makers were sewing till midnight and directors, Karen MacDonald and Adam Clarke, were tearing their hair out. However, the audience wouldn’t have known a thing.

Direction was tight and pacy, clever choreography on a cramped stage fun to watch. Baz Stilinski’s Peter had a touch of sadness within his cocky self-confidence and was a great foil to the bombastic Hook, effortlessly played by Philip Leigh, alternatively menacing and cajoling with some great ad-libs.

Smee and Starkey, David Dunn and Lisa Maxwell, worked well together, firing off their cracker jokes with aplomb. Katie Cherry invested Wendy with charm, energy and common sense while Chloe McDonald made Tinkerbell’s treachery and atonement seem utterly natural. They say don’t act with children or animals, but young Yaseen and Zeina were tip-top as John and Michael Darling.

However, Nick Johnson’s Manny, doubling up as the Darlings’ guard dog and Nanny, nearly stole the show with his memorable Sugar Plum solo (you should have been there). Narrator (Elea Walker) and the characterful ensemble players added to the fun while the music and lighting complemented the action on the stage.

The costumes were magnificent, and Adam Clarke’s marvellous set design, transported us to the Nursery, Never Land and most atmospheric of all, Hook’s jail.

As always blood, sweat and tears behind creativity but fun, laughter and cheers from the audience. Roll on next year!