Every Christmas Granny and Granddad
Buy us a family theatre visit
As part of our Christmas presents
This year we chose to see
Peter Pan at The National Theatre
Esther and William at six years old
Are a little younger than the recommended lower age limit of 7
But they are regular theatre goers
They are actually very good theatre critics
And they enjoy seeing and discussing a show
We have seen a wide range of traditional and modern theatre
So I was confident that whatever the interpretation of Peter Pan
A story that as a family we adore
They would be able to handle it
And enjoy it
And I was not wrong
The play has a running time of 2 hours and 35 minutes
And my theatre loving twosome were engrossed
Entranced throughout
Only speaking to make comments about the staging
And to ask valid questions about the plot and the characters
I was super proud of them
And very sad that a man in the row in front of us
A fair number of seats away
Felt the need to sshhh my children
And give them dirty looks throughout the performance
I feel sorry for the man
As he missed some magical moments of the production
Looking back at us and watching us as a family
Totally lost in the amazing performances of the ensemble on stage
The National Theatre production of Peter Pan
Is wonderful
The perfect mix of magic and menace
We laughed until we cried
And at times sobbed uncontrollably
Such was the power of the piece
I cried so much when Tinkerbell drank Peter’s poisoned medicines
And the entire audience
Especially my twins
Clapped so hard
Saying over and over and over again
I believe in fairies
I believe in fairies!
I cried again when Wendy and Jane were talking about Peter Pan
And when Peter said his goodbyes
Dan Wheeler played Peter Pan today
And he was awesome
It took me a while to warm to him
But at the inspirational end of Act 1
He stole my heart
And kept a tight hold of it for the whole of Act 2
The play begins with a strength in individual performances
Combined with effortless team work
That continues throughout the show
Mrs Darling is fabulous
Mr Darling hilarious
Both are so lovable
The children are wonderful
With Wendy played perfectly
And her relationship with John was very funny
Nana the Dog was brilliant
A fine comic performance
And I loved the actor who then went on
To play Tootles with as much comic affection
I loved the way the ensemble worked together
Acting as stage support when not in role
Mr Darling who also played Smee and one of the Lost Boy twins
Is such a talent
Totally captivating to watch
Mrs Darling is also Captain Hook
And she is marvellous in both roles
A real rocky pirate mistress
A true cruel but slightly broken Captain
I could not take my eyes off her
Esther and William were not at all sure about
Captain Hook being a girl
But Anna Francolini definitely won them over
Won us all over
We all loved how the musicians were integrated with the actors
The music was a strength of this interpretation of such a well loved tale
The flying was awe inspiring
Especially for little people
Who aspire to be actors and acrobats and dancers
My children ooohed and aaahed in all the right places
And they were not alone
If you have chance to go and see Peter Pan at The National Theatre
Please do
It is a magical modern interpretation
That loses none of the original charm in this wonderful adaptation
This is a story of adventure
A story of make believe
Of pirates and fairies
Of love
This is the story of a little boy who never grew up
Could not
Would not
The boy who never grew up
Top Tip for the man in the row in front of us
A fair number of seats away
If you want to go to a theatre show where well behaved children with a love of theatre sit in silence and do not express their joy and sadness at the play and performances they are experiencing, do not book tickets to a family show, matinee performance in the middle of Christmas week
My six year old twins loved this production so much
That they cried when the cast took their final bows
They did not want the show to finish
They did not want their adventure to end
And that is praise indeed
Thank you to everyone involved in today’s performance of Peter Pan
Just magical!
And thank you Granny and Granddad
For making it possible for us to go