This production had dual casts, the Neverland Cast and and the Bloomsbury Cast. In the interest of fairness to all, we reviewed both casts.

The Adelaide Theatre Academy is certainly getting lots right in their development of young performers. Their Peter Pan was an exciting, colourful and focussed presentation of J.M. Barrie’s beloved tale. That reflects well on the organisation in general, and the creatives and crew on this particular production, especially Director Hannah Smith, Musical Director Amelia Rooney and Choreographer Emma Dalton, supported by their youthful assistants as well as Emily Jaensch who coordinated the striking costumes and the set designers Leah Herderich, Sharon Malujlo and Hannah Smith. The occasional use of shadow plays on the upstage cloth was a real winner, making the most of the simple, effective set. Notable, too were the well-balance sound, managed by audio technician Marco Rab, and the skilful work of lighting operator Thom Papps. That’s a long list of credits, but truth to tell, it is not always the case that all those elements are coordinated as well as they were in this Peter Pan. One puzzling element of both casts’ performance was that the nicely sustained English accents in the spoken word were contrasted with generally American accents in the songs. It begged the question.

I had the good fortune to review both casts. Both sustained a high quality of music, dialogue and movement. That’s a most creditable achievement, especially considering there were 70-odd performers in each cast, and this musical requires effective singing, acting and movement from all of them. Granted, they do come in readily identifiable groups: Peter Pan and Tinkerbell; the Darling family and staff; the Lost Boys; the Pirates; and the Forest Spirits. In all cases they sustained character, concentration and a sense of wonder and excitement from beginning to end. Further, all were at times involved in the smooth-flowing, efficient and often entertaining scene changes. The well-rehearsed changes, often to the accompaniment of the recorded backing music, were impressive. They were both unobtrusive and yet captured our attention, while adding to the narrative.

Importantly, the audiences were thoroughly engaged in the action and narrative from go to whoa. In both cases there were lots of youngsters, and they can be a demanding audience, making it obvious if they lose the thread. Yet they stayed with the story, whether it was being told in music, dialogue or dance. Credit here to all concerned with the production.

Neverland Cast

In this cast, Aled Yeoh was a cheeky, lively and spontaneous Peter Pan. He led the story line with flair and had the right balance of confidence and self-doubt to make a complete character picture. He sang and moved well, capturing the audience’s heart from the outset. Opposite him was Olivia Emmett as Wendy. She had a good sense of character and was thoughtful and empathetic in dealing with Peter, her siblings and the lost boys. Levi Seyfang was a swashbuckling Captain Hook. Clearly the script requires both aggression and comic vulnerability from Hook, and Seyfang managed that with ease, really coming into his own in the later scenes where he was on the losing side. Isabelle Strelan was a genuinely grumpy Tinkerbell, Florence Du was graceful and athletic as Tiger Lily, while Henry Coyle and Luna Clear were effective as Wendy’s brothers John and Michael.

Bloomsbury Cast

Here, Alessia De Nitto was an enchanting Peter Pan. She played to her strengths in acting – more sweet than impish – and related well to the other characters. She used her clear singing voice to good effect and was a real audience favourite. Emma Sayers was a wonderful Wendy. She brought a calm presence and maturity to the role and was at all times controlled, demure and engaging. Jack Wake-Dyster impressed as Captain Hook. He had all the required swagger and conveyed his dialogue and songs in a crisp, well-articulated baritone. Claire Saint drew considerable positive audience reaction with her ill tempered gesticulations, Emma Devine impressed as Tiger Lily and was a clear leader of the other Spirits of the Forest, while Patrick Green and Natalie Warnest were convincing as brothers John and Michael Darling.