Peter Pan

The Bristol Old Vic, as is their way, have taken a really fresh lok at the Peter Pan story, and produced something more family show than panto and true to the original whilst having a somewhat modern setting. Played on an essentially bare stage with the flying equipment (fairy string) fully on view, this is a fascinating and watchable adaptation. The versatile cast of nine (plus three musicians) play all the characters with only Peter and Wendy (as far as I could make out) sticking to one role.

Does sit work? Mostly, there are some really funny and enjoyable sections (particularly the mermaids!) but, to be honest, the stage space allowed is too big for even this hard working cast to fill and from time to time it lacks both pace in production and "volume" (in terms of number of bodies to fill the space and number of voices to fill the air). I can't help wondering if sizing the space down somewhat would have made for a much more engaging production ...