“Oh yes it is!” Panto season is upon us once again, and we get the privileged chance to see well respected actors and actresses makes fools out of themselves, in this case Brian Blessed and Michaela Strachan.

The not so traditional Panto story of Peter Pan has been mixed with the Disney version to create this brand new style millennium pantomime, which has been brought to us by Jim Davidson’s Effective Theatrical Productions. It is full of technical wizardry from the amazing flying scenes, which includes a daring flight over the audience, to some top class laser displays!

The young and talented cast are lively and look as if they really are enjoying themselves. The extremely hilarious Carl Johns makes Smee the funniest character, who is loved by the children…and women alike! The Bristol School of Dancing injects some local talent, and the strong voice Hayley Sephton as Wendy, shows a lot of promise. The booming, large mouthed Brian Blessed, who as he said “Doesn’t need a microphone!” plays as a loveable, hateful, astounding Captain Hook. He fits the role perfectly; he is funny, talented and extremely loud! He manages to bring the stage alive with passion for theatre, and he really gets the audience involved and enjoying the show. Michaela Strachan is the perfect Peter Pan, she is full of life, her voice is wondrous and her nerves are up to scratch with all the flying she does!

The direction is typically panto, with the usual sketches, and jokes (nothing new there!) but the director has managed to include something for everyone. The theatre was full of families, with young children, and old grandparents, and they all were enjoying themselves. The vibrant sets and costumes are a pleasure to look at, and the comedy is there, as it should be in panto for everyone to enjoy.

The Panto is a great way to introduce children to live theatre, but this one was lacking a live orchestra, and live singing in places which unfortunately lost some of the joy and magic which theatre creates, but still, David Copperfield eat your heart out, as this panto has a lot more magic than you.

Thorough family fun, a great way to introduce Kids to Theatre, a good laugh, and awe-inspiring to watch. This is a new style pantomime, which keeps the original thrill, and introduces a new blend of style, is one for all the family, no matter how old!

 The Tick List

 Music

 Lyrics

 Story

 Sets

 Costumes

 Cast

 Overall
 

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