Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sawyer, and Henry Shields, Peter Pan Goes Wrong delights an audience of all ages in Southampton.
Starring Jack Michael Stacey, Jamie Birkett, and Clara Morris, this play sets the benchmark for physical comedy.
It centres around the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, as the enthusiastic cast and crew attempt to showcase their production of the 1904 J.M. Barrie play, Peter and Wendy.
Though the cast try their hardest to deliver a pitch perfect performance, just about everything that can go wrong, does go wrong – as furniture collapses, people catch fire, and cast members disappear.
The play has something for everyone and it’s something the whole family can enjoy.
Children will be howling at the comedy of errors while engrossing themselves in the story, as the more age-appropriate jokes land well with the more mature members of the auditorium.
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Jack Michael Stacey stands out among the cast – transitioning seamlessly between Mr Darling and Captain Hook – engaging well with the audience, who in one scene openly engages in a back-and-forth segment (which seemed so spontaneous I’d actually question whether it was scripted) like a comedian challenging a heckler to improve their comebacks.
Remember – “It’s not a pantomime!”
Jean-Luke Worrell narrates the play in scene stealing fashion, often making his entrance sat upon an oversized wooden chair that slides across the stage, that’s just as deliberately temperamental as most of the props throughout the two-hour and fifteen-minute run time.
For all the one liners, special effects, and quick costume changes (done especially brilliantly by Jamie Birkett), the physical comedy in Peter Pan Goes Wrong is not to be missed.
Whether it’s slipping over, crashing into the set whilst flying on a wire, or running to the correct scene as the staging moves around you – the play is the biggest advertisement for why physical comedy is one of the greatest forms of humour.
The show runs until Saturday, October 28 and has a selection of both 7pm and 2pm performances.
Be sure to get to your seat ahead of time – you might just bump into the cast and crew as they assemble the set…
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