Reviewed by Fran Edwards
April 2012
The thing about well presented youth theatre is that it is always magical. There is nothing so infectious as the enthusiasm they exude. When the children are also talented is a joy to watch.
This new version of Peter Pan is a little different and gives scope for AYT to put a lot of children on stage, maybe a few too many as occasionally the larger scenes suffered from lack of focus and too much distraction. However this is easy to overlook given the standard of the production after less than 2 weeks rehearsal.
As always there were standouts in the cast, Benji Riggs did a fine job as Captain Hook, and Tayla Coad made a lovely Wendy, although Kyle Hall, whilst doing well, was a little laid back for my liking. Teagan Fisher was delightful as Tinkerbell, such great mischievous expressions and a sense of fun. Sarah Thorpe showed much maturity as Mrs Darling and Tanysha Sarti was a ferocious Tiger Lily.
Ben Francis and Nathan Stafford were well cast as John and Michael, giving good performances. Matt Tripodi brought a little quirkiness to Mr Darling. Maeve Marrayat was very controlled as the Storyteller remaining a constant thread throughout, and Laurence Boxall gave us a ‘well rounded’ Smee with lots of cheek.
The large ensemble was well drilled and created their own characters making an interesting chorus, especially the young man with the teddy bear ears who won many hearts. Altogether a fun performance, very rewarding for the production team of Jason Sarti (director), Amber Platten (choreographer) and Brenton Shaw (musical director) – the cast were a credit to you. Well done all!
