Peter Pan A Musical Adventure is the second BMOS performance to hit the Alexandra Theatre stage this year, and with the festive season upon us, there’s no better time than to travel to the magical world of Never Land!
Directed by Faye Easto, with book by Willis Hall, music by George Stiles and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, Peter Pan is based on J.M. Barrie’s original play.
We follow the story of Wendy (Annabel Pilcher), John (Riley Manning) and Michael (Edward Jones) Darling, who listen to a bedtime story from their mother (Jo Smith) each night. Peter Pan (Martin Foley) – the boy who never grows up – sneaks into nursery to listen and is suddenly spooked, accidentally leaving his shadow behind.
His efforts to retrieve it wakes Wendy. She helps him to restore his shadow, and Wendy, John and Michael travel to Never Land where they go on an incredible adventure filled with the Lost Boys, Tiger Lily (Lauren Shirley) and her braves, and encounter the evil Captain Hook (Alistair Jolliffe), Smee (Dave Shaw) and his band of pirates.
BMOS – an amateur performing arts group with members of all ages from across the West Midlands – is renowned for producing high-quality shows that at times can rival many professional touring companies, and Peter Pan was no exception. As the lead, Martin Foley gave a competent performance as Pan, and he was clearly a hit with the audience. As always, the standout vocal performances came from Annabel Pilcher as Wendy and Jo Smith as Mrs Darling, and Michelle Worthington was an excellent narrator. However, the scene stealers were undoubtedly Alistair Jolliffe and Dave Shaw as the serious Captain Hook and scatterbrained Smee – (who is a perfect combination of a camp Bob Hoskins and Gemma Collins from TOWIE in stripes) – an absolute joy to watch.
It was as visually impressive as some of the vocals. Characters flew across the stage on wires amidst the extravagant sets and lighting, a rather intimidating crocodile moved across the stage on multiple occasions, we were treated to sword fights, great choreography and many comedic moments and one-liners. The overall cast were super-enthusiastic as always, and aside from the occasional slip-up most of the performance was well-rehearsed.
It’s a lengthy musical (the first act is 75 minutes and the second act is 60 minutes), which wouldn’t lose anything by cutting a few of the songs and perhaps some of the scenes could be sped up slightly. However, it was an enjoyable evening and definitely worth a watch. Peter Pan A Musical Adventure is a fun production that all the family will love!
Suzie Speaks 
I loved the first stage presentation (on TV) of Peter Pan oh so many years ago, with Mary Martin playing Peter. I saw a remake later on, too. I agree the show is a bit long but I would enjoy every bit. Did they sing the original songs?