Review: WENDY AND PETER PAN, RSC Barbican

Manuel Harlan

The Royal Shakespeare Company have presented Peter Pan before, but in a production which followed closely J. M. Barrie’s original play but added a Storyteller. This revival of Ella Hickson’s 2013 adaptation is a complete rethinking of the play, while remaining truthful to the key elements of this story which has lasted so long. Wendy and Peter Pan is a triumph, and deserves to be seen in future years, especially if it is with a cast as well suited to the piece as can be seen at the Barbican this year.

Hickson’s cleverest change is to add another Darling child, Tom, who dies at a young age – as did one of Barrie’s own siblings. It is her quest for her lost brother that takes Wendy to Neverland, alongside her other brothers. As is usual these days, all the child roles in the play are played by adults, a practice which can be cringeworthy but is always effective here and rather more than that in many cases. The casting of real children in this play always adds poignancy and reality but the practicalities are obviously difficult to surmount.

As Director, Jonathan Munby has been with this production since the beginning and it shows. Every opportunity has been seized, every nuance is acknowledged and there are some great jokes; as the small girl in front of us said with glee to her mother “it’s even a bit rude.” From the opening scene, when Peter (an energetic performance by Daniel Krikler) arrived with not one but multiple shadows, and when we realized that there would be proper flying to the full height of the Barbican stage, the audience knew they were in safe hands. The very mixed Press Night audience of families, guests and RSC luminaries were hooked from the start, with Colin Richmond’s inventive set offering much to see even before the show began.

In this version, the Darling family seem to be slightly less well off than usual, and there are no servants or dog nursemaid. There are hints of marriage break-up and care is taken to avoid the usual caricature Edwardian parents. Lolita Chakrabarti is a dignified and powerful Mrs Darling, although she is seen all too little, even with a few appearances interwoven with the action on the island. As her husband, Toby Stephens is wholly convincing and also takes on the tradition of playing Captain Hook as well. His Hook is absolutely in the traditional style and his apparent delight in playing the role is matched by ours in watching him – it is a performance to relish.

As the Darling boys, Alexander Molony, Fred Woodley Evans and Kwaku Mills create clearly differing characters, with Mills as a slightly camp Michael and a particular success. As Wendy, Hannah Saxby is wholly convincing as a young girl approaching womanhood and is more than up to the challenges of this version as she teams up with Tiger Lily and a slightly reluctant Tink (Charlotte Mills, always watchable) to rescue the Lost Boys from the Pirates. It’s a proper battle too, with guns, swords and  even cannons firing into the audience.

Hook’s crew are a varied gang, each of them a memorable individual, with Scott Karim as Smee forever holding to hopes of retiring to a cottage with his Captain one day. His forlorn asides are greatly enjoyed by older members of the audience; it is a detailed and clever portrayal. Joe Hewetson as Martin the Cabin Boy made his mark too, especially when he realized he was not born to be a pirate. Add to this a whole host of vivid characters, from a dashing Tiger Lily straight out of an action movie (Ami Tredrea) to an interesting doubling of Doctor and Crocodile by Harrison Claxton (some great movement work although we missed the gaping jaws). And there may  be fewer  Lost Boys than usual but  they are each of them unique characters.

The combination of these performances, Shuhei Kamimura’s music and the fantastic designs lead to a series of thrilling moments as the cast take to the air, the nursery transforms to Neverland and a complete pirate ship sails on and fills the stage. We only miss the mermaids (Michael Darling will be disappointed) but many of the other key moments are included, even the recovery of the poisoned Tink by audience applause.

The changes made by giving Wendy – along with Tink and Tiger Lily – key roles in the final battle greatly enhance the story and were totally acceptable to all the young audience members around us. The RSC at its best is a great ensemble, as it has shown with everything from The Romans to Nicholas Nickleby. With Wendy and Peter Pan, we are once again seeing RSC ensemble playing at its best: unmissable.

***** Five Stars

Reviewed by Chris Abbott

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