PETER PAN. To 31 January.
Leeds.
PETER PAN
music by George Stiles lyrics by Anthony Drewe book by Willis Hall.
West Yorkshire Playhouse To 31 January 2009.
Tue-Sat 7pm Mat 1.30pm Wed, Thu, Sat & 2, 4 Jan.
Audio-described 7 Jan 7pm, 24 Jan 1.30pm.
BSL Signed 10 Jan 1.30pm.
Captioned 8 Jan 7pm, 17 Jan 1.30pm.
Runs 2hr 40min One interval.
TICKETS: 0113 213 7700.
www.wyp.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 30 December.
A musical where the music counts, at cost to the play.
America has Stephen Sondheim but Britain has Stiles and Drewe, whose Peter Pan, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, artistic director of Birmingham Rep, was seen there last year, part of a shared Christmas production scheme that maximises work for two of Britain’s most capacious regional repertory stages.
Apart from David Birrell’s doubling of a blood-curdling Captain Hook and the craven Mr Darling, major roles are recast. Considering Jan Pick’s enthusiasm for the Birmingham performances, the changes haven’t helped. Amy Lennox is a fine Wendy at Leeds, sympathetic and motherly but uncloying. And Alwyne Taylor’s Narrator, the point of whom is only apparent at the close, also works well enough.
Yet, while it brings enjoyable songs, the production at Leeds asks what the point is in turning Peter Pan into a musical. It leads to Kirsty Holles’ competent Mrs Darling singing emotionally at the audience while its intended auditors, her three children, sleep peacefully behind her throughout. It allows no time for the Lost Boys to emerge as individuals; the “slightly soiled” joke remains but without the preparation that makes it so poignant.
The pirate crew come off little better, though Stephen Carlile and Martin Callaghan individualise Starkey and Smee successfully, despite Willis Hall’s script reducing Smee’s role: music’s gain is drama’s loss. Tiger Lily becomes a near-cypher solo Indian.
For dramatic climaxes must compete with moments that cue songs, and the songs they cue. Stiles and Drewe doubtless do the job as well as might be, but the necessary dramatic reductions are bound to cause dramatic damage in such a completely-conceived story as Barrie’s.
And, there’s no avoiding it, there’s a dramatic hollow at the centre. James Gillan’s Peter moves well and has a peach of a high, smooth tenor voice. But there’s a cold briskness to his character. He handles Tinkerbell’s audience-aided recovery as a clinical, hygienic operation, while a bold posture and broad smile are about the limits of characterisation.
There are fine visual moments, especially as Peter finally rises, twirling against a star-scaped night sky, and an affecting crocodile. But songs rather than drama are the high-points overall.
Storyteller: Alwyne Taylor.
Mr Darling/Captian Hook: David Birrell.
Mrs Darling/Mermaid: Kirsty Holles.
Wendy: Amy Lennox.
John: James Byng.
Michael: Jake Abbott/Jed Berry/Hamish Rae.
Liza: Clare Halse.
Nana/Tiger Lily: Michelle Cornelius.
Peter Pan: James Gillan.
Tootles: Thomas Aldridge.
Slightly: Dominic Ridley.
Nibs: Simon Schofield.
Curly: Craig Dinnewell.
1st Twin: Gregg Lowe.
2nd Twin: Tim Edwards.
Smee: Martin Callaghan.
Gentleman Starkey: Stephen Carlile.
Cecco: Bradley Jaden.
Cookson: Christopher D Hunt.
Mullins: Jo Servi.
Bill Jukes: James Bisp.
Director: Rachel Kavanaugh.
Designer: Peter McIntosh.
Lighting: Paul Pyant.
Sound: Mike Walker.
Orchestration: David Shrubsole.
Musical Director: Stephen Ridley.
Illusionist: Tom Silburn.
Fight director: Terry King.
Assistant directors: Justin Audibert, Christopher Hill.
2009-01-06 22:11:42