One of Bath’s favourite theatre groups have returned to the Theatre Royal main stage with a hilariously funny show that’s guaranteed to provide complete pan-demonium.
Mischief Theatre Group’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong is on until Saturday, November 11, prior to its return to London’s West End and my advice to you is don’t miss it.
You should book quickly to catch the show in Bath before it returns to London’s West End for a seven-and-a-half-week Christmas season.
It’s fair to say that Peter Pan Goes Wrong is probably the most hysterically funny, side-splitting show that I’m likely to see this year and thoroughly deserving of all the awards that it’s won.
Make no mistake, the very talented cast make the absolute most of every comic line, every farcical scene, and every slapstick caper they can from the beginning to the very end.
The comedy begins even before the play has started with the cast trailing a cable extension wire from the stage to the sound and lighting booth at the back of the auditorium.
It continues with the cast searching for a lost hammer, and farcically hits the stage with a collapsing bunk bed in the Darling family’s children’s bedroom.
The riotous spin on a J M Barrie’s timeless classic comes from the team behind the multi award-winning, global comedy phenomenon The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC One television series The Goes Wrong Show.
Co-penned by Mischief’s celebrated writing trio, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a highly physical comedy packed with finely-tuned farce and Buster Keaton inspired slapstick, delivered with split-second timing and ambitious daring.
The play sees the ‘Cornley Drama Society’ back on a revolving stage, with a very cleverly designed set, battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes as they attempt to present the much-loved tale.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong was last performed at the Theatre Royal in 2015 and 2019 and this 2023 touring production reunites returning Mischief cast members with some courageous new recruits. I'm not going to single out individual cast members as they were all brilliant.
The cast includes Jake Burgum as Trevor, Jack Michael Stacey as Chris (Mid Darling and Captain Hook), Matthew Howell as Robert (Nana the Dog/Peter Pan’s shadow/Starkey), Jean-Luke Worrell as Francis (The Narrator/Cecco), Ciara Morris as Sandra (Wendy Darling), Theo Toksvig-Stewart as Max (Michael Darling/Mermaid/Crocodile), Clark Devlin as Dennis (John Darling/Mermaid/Mr Smee), Jamie Birkett as Annie (Mrs Darling/|Lisa/Tinkerbell), Gareth Tempest as Jonathan (Peter Pan) and Rosemarie Akwafo as Lucy (Tootles).
Peter Pan Goes Wrong is directed by Adam Meggido, with set designs by Simon Scullion, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Matt Haskins and sound by Ella Wahlström. Original compositions are by Richard Baker and Rob Falconer. The Associate Director is Fred Gray.
Nominated for an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2016, Peter Pan Goes Wrong has enjoyed two West End runs, a season on Broadway, a tour of Australia and New Zealand and two UK tours.
BBC One broadcast a one-hour version of the show on primetime television in December 2016, starring David Suchet as the guest narrator, watched by an audience of over six million.
The story plays out with a good heart and in the spirit of anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and believe me, it does. I defy you not to laugh.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong appears at the Theatre Royal Bath to Saturday, November 11. To purchase tickets, contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk
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