Hello world! Welcome back to another blog! In this blog I will be talking about my visit to watch the afternoon show of Peter Pan on 14th December 2024 at the Theatre Royal Nottingham, which I went with my good friend Ben Grace from The Actors Workshop Nottingham.
It was that time of year again where the pantomime season took place, and with the cast being announced I couldn't not book myself and my friend who came with me a ticket. And after my recent performance in the Actors Workshop's performance of our adult pantomime, I couldn't not miss an opportunity to see a more family friendly performance.
As always in these big shows we had some actors who are well known to all, and some actors who yes have only just graduated or famous in their own bubble, but boy do they have some talent! Here are some of these people in question!
Britain's Got Talent finalist Steve Hewlett did a brilliant job at playing the role of Smee. He did what every pantomime comic did and kept the audiences energy going! And to think that he appeared on BGT 11 years ago (and how he kept that youthful look all that time I don't know), but his act of ventriloquism never gets old. His friend Arthur Lager and Chee Chee the dog brought some first class entertainment and even got a dad from the audience to participate in his act.
Gok Won took on the role of the Magical Merman. This wasn't a full on Pantomime Dame, but with Gok himself I don't think he needed it, as he was the entertainer we all needed. And despite some moments where he broke character a few times (which was bound to happen due to the funny nature of the performance), like a true professional he carried on until the end of the scene!
Nottingham based actor Richard Windsor took on the role of Captain Hook. I couldn't imagine what it must've been like to step in after the original actress had to bow out due to illness, but boy was he brilliant for doing a great job at portraying Peter's sworn nemesis. There was a moment at the beginning where I couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but maybe that was because of all of the booing from the audience (which is expected for a pantomime villain), and despite breaking character with Gok Wan, he really brought Captain Hook to life.
Paul Chuckle played the role of pantomime comic Starky, and he had to be one of my favourite actors within the performance. After seeing the Chuckle brothers on TV from an early age, seeing Paul in the flesh was like winning the lottery. As Gok Wan said, really was Pantomime royalty, especially when it came to the "To Me To You" routine. I also particularly liked his song about his trip to the shop, featuring a product linking to something pink and soft (where if reading it, it'll mean one thing to kids but another to adults). It was a shame I couldn't meet him after the show (as my friend suggested to see if he could sign a book I got but due to getting ready for another show, I didn't know how long it would be and like Wendy and her brothers, I needed to get home), but that was one thing ticked off of my bucket list.
Molly farmer took on the role of Wendy darling! She was everything a principle girl needed to be, and I loved her chemistry with Matthew Allen and Harley Butler who played her brothers John and Michael. And her voice was beautiful as well! Aiden Carson took on the titular role of the show. He was energetic, he was talented and like Wendy as the principal girl, he was everything a principle boy needed to be. This along with Kate Stewart who played Tinkerbell, who made it clear that her character was jealous of the friendship of Peter and Wendy, but her deal with Captain Hook made Tinks have second thoughts of what she did, really made a perfect dream team. I also admire their bravery for being high up in the air as fairies, something which to me looks scary but I've always wanted to try.
There have been many pantomime gags that got me going. Some I've seen before, and others I haven't. Here are some of them:
Questions Gag:
The quiz scene was a brilliant start to the gags that kept on coming and coming. I especially liked the first one (which I won't say as I'll let you guess what it is if you've seen it before, or if you haven't seen it yet, you can see for yourself). And Starky and Smee were able to answer them in the comic characters they are.
Coaching scene:
I was so excited for this one. If anyone has seen the recording of "Chuckle Brothers: Pirates of the River Rother" or has seen the production in real life, then you'll know the scene well. Starky and Smee did this brilliantly, and I knew what it was after they said the first line of the piece. You would think that Paul would keep his cool after doing it before with Barry, but nope! Even towards the end of the piece he still cracks a giggle or two. Although I think you know that's when you love your job if it still makes you laugh.
Music Gag:
When the magical merman got Smee to ask questions for his dating agency, every answer gave off a line from different songs. Because I've seen this gag many times, it didn't get me going as much (which was surprising as I normally can't stop laughing when it comes to these sort of gags). But I did find it funny when Gok broke character midway through it.
Goldilocks Story:
This was a new thing for me at a pantomime, but surprisingly I kind of liked it. I won't reveal all of it, but let's say it involves 4 parents getting involved in the story. And it also gives us some good ideas for improvisation games either in class or during events where we get the audience involved.
I think my only downsides were that act 1 was better than act 2, and that I was expecting to have one of the two pantomime songs at the end of the show (and for those who are pantomime fans I’ll leave you up guess what they are). But the Goldilocks story was equally entertaining, and something to maybe do in class as an improvisation exercise but maybe with other stories and not just Goldilocks and The Three Bears.
Overall I would give the show a 4.95. It was funny, it was entertaining and I got to witness some childhood magic. And despite those moments where I was expecting something but didn’t, there were some moments that gave me some newfound inspiration.
And that was my review of Peter Pan. It's on until 12th January, so if you want to enter the new year on a high, click the link below to book your tickets. But you need to be quick as for those who have been to pantomimes many times like myself, you can see why its popular.
See you soon for another blog. Until next time...
This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)
Kommentare