Tuesday 14 January 2014

Wendy and Peter Pan at the RAC

PHOTOS FROM WENDYPETER PAN BY MANUEL HARLAN

Just before Christmas I was invited along to Stratford Upon Avon to the RAC Theater to watch the new production of Wendy and Peter Pan. Having always been a big fan of Peter Pan, and even planning on running away with him as a child… I was very excited to see it on the stage.

Running late has become a bit of a trademark for me, so just before the show began I fell into my seat and counted my lucky stars that I had actually made it.. All be it by the very skin of my teeth.

The stage immediately caught my eye, the way the seats are positioned means that the stage extends out into the audience. I was sat on the ground floor stalls and really enjoyed being amongst everything that was going on. During the performance the actors were constantly around the ground floor audience as they performed, for me this gave the performance a whole other level.

As a child I had always wanted to go along to a production where they made the cast members fly, there was something about that element that just captivated me. When I saw Peter Pan fly onto stage my childhood wish had finally come true, and I watched Wendy, Peter and the boys fly away to Neverland.

PHOTOS FROM WENDYPETER PAN BY MANUEL HARLAN

The story was based on the Puffin book Wendy and Peter, and in comparison to the Disney version which I so loved as a little girl, the story was very different and in my opinion a lot more darker.

Instead of all of the children flying off to Neverland with Peter in the middle of the night, and being back home and tucked up in bed before their parents even noticed them as missing, the stage version see’s Wendy’s younger brother being taken as a lost boy at the very start of the performance. A year passes and there is no explanation as to what has happened to their younger brother. It is only when Peter Pan returns to find his shadow that Wendy starts to put the pieces together.

I really liked how the scenes with Peter Pan were choreographed, and as it happens Peter had more than just one shadow. Peter’s shadow actually split into multiples, his shadows then acted as a means to making Peter fly around the stage without the hoist. They all moved in unison and I found it all incredibly well done.

For me a big part of the likability factor for the Wendy and Peter performance had to be Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell was not at all how I had pictured them portraying this famous fairy, but she was fabulous all the same. Tinkerbell has two forms, one of which is a tiny light that fly’s around, and the other is a life size lady who’s personality is just larger than life. She was incredibly funny and put on a great performance.

The sets were really well thought out and you could see that there was so much attention to detail. My mind was well and truly blown when the stage actually lifted up to reveal the lost boy’s secret hideaway. The lost boys and Tink were already inside dancing away to music that I found myself tapping my feet along to from start to finish.

PHOTOS FROM WENDYPETER PAN BY MANUEL HARLAN

The pirates costumes were brilliant and even I felt a chill run down the back of my spine when I saw them walking out onto the stage, I was not surprised in the least when I heard a little girl in the very front seats suddenly burst into tears. For me the real scare factor lay with the crocodile, I thought the costume was really well thought out and he definitely played his part well. Strategic stepping, a long silky cape and what I am sure had to be contact lenses. 

He really did make one hell of a crocodile!

If you are local to the area or planning on visiting Stratford Upon Avon in the imminent future then I can highly recommend paying a visit to the RAC and watching this performance. Children over 7 are more than welcome to come along but I can see why it is not advised for younger children.


PHOTOS FROM WENDYPETER PAN BY MANUEL HARLAN

Win four tickets to the Royal Shakespeare Production of Wendy & Peter Pan at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, plus bed and breakfast at the The Arden Hotel on the 22nd February 2014! And the beautiful cloth bound classic of J.M. Barrie’s original tale!

Disclaimer: I was invited along to the Wendy and Peter production in return for this review. All views and opinions are completely honest and my own.


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