For the first outing of the new decade we gathered at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.
The show was the follow on from the very successful “The Play That Goes Wrong”. This time it was the pantomime that kept going horribly and hilariously wrong. “This is not a Pantomime” as one character defiantly declared at one point. To which the audience loudly responded “Oh but it is”.
The Peter Pan actor spent much time on a wire swinging wildly above the stage, upright, upside down, and all positions between as he crashed into various bits of scenery. When the Darling family were supposed to fly the wires were smartly pulled up, taking their outer clothing but leaving the bodies on the floor. So all three had to scramble out of the window in their undies, declaring “I’m flying, I’m flying”.
The rotating stage, with three sides for three different scenes, would sometimes rotate at the wrong time, revealing the “off stage” actors argueing, or snogging as the case may be. There were a couple of back stage romances ongoing through the play and getting in the way of the play.
The fairy Tinker Bell, a slightly plump, but pleasingly so actress in a little blue skirt festooned with fairy lights, somhow seemed to end up dead and was dragged off stage as part of the final proceedings. This versatile actress played three roles with some remarkably rapid costume changes.
The play was pitched at a grownup level, especially to those who have ever been involved in amateur dramatics, but also for growing children (not infants).
So, overall a very successful comedy and a good outing.