It’s that time of year again (oh yes it is) to get your pantomime fix, and Milton Keynes Theatre is ready to buckle your swashes and shiver your timbers with it’s pirate-filled production of ‘Peter Pan’. This bright and energetic show combines some West End voices with a troupe of acrobats and a ventriloquist, along with a hungry crocodile trying to get its jaws around ‘Strictly’ judge Craig Revel Horwood as a flamboyant Captain Hook.
Adapted by Alan McHugh from JM Barrie’s original story with additional material by Max Fulham and Matt Slack, ‘Peter Pan’ has set the humour bar incredibly high, and offers two of the funniest hours you can have right now. It really works because it relies on faithful pantomime traditions (the tongue-twister scene, the song that always goes wrong, the audience singalong at the end) and delivers them with jokes by the bucketload.
Much of this comes from Fulham himself who appears as Smee, with his hilarious companion Gordon the monkey. Peter Pan and the darlings are pretty much sidelined for a lot of the show and it really doesn’t matter, as Fulham’s comic timing and enviable talent is the absolute highlight of the show. Fulham brings endless laughs from a witty script along with some brilliant repartee with some front-row audience members. The show may be called ‘Peter Pan’ but it’s Smee who steals it, and Fulham is an absolute star.
Production values are very high as we’ve come to expect from Milton Keynes Theatre’s pantomimes, and directed with a huge sense of fun by Michael Gyngell. The show looks great and delivers some wonderful “big” moments, naturally with Peter flying but also a hugely impressive animatronic crocodile that kids will love. Fantastic lighting and costume design (Teresa Nalton) give the production plenty of colour and style, and a hard-working ensemble deliver some energetic choreography (Lizzi McGee). Performance troupe The Acromaniacs also show off plenty of nifty tricks and gymnastic techniques in a fun scene of pirate hijinks that really gets the audience revved up. A few songs allow for some breaks in the comedy, though not as many as with other pantomimes, which are mostly spoofs of recognisable hits (Westlife, Queen, Frank Sinatra), and delivered well by the cast
Craig Revel Horwood may not be the greatest actor on our stages but he’s clearly having a lot of fun with his camp, playful Hook. He leans massively into his ‘Strictly’ persona as you’d expect, which he shows a great fondness for. He also gets to show off a few dance moves and a decent singing voice. Most of the other vocals come from Ross Carpenter (Peter Pan), Evelyn Hoskins (Wendy) and Zara MacIntosh (Tink), who all do a great job in the roles and strike the right balance between pantomime earnestness and feisty attitude.
Milton Keynes Theatre’s pantomime really is a “Pan-tastic” night out and a brilliantly-silly excuse to get the whole family together for a festive treat this Christmas.
