User reviews

Set in the contemporary era, Diarmuid Lawrence's production opens in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, where Lucy Rose (Hazel Doupe) is about to undergo a heart operation. Her mother Julie (Laura Fraser) is quite naturally apprehensive about what will happen, but kindly orderly Jerzy (Bjarne Henriksen) consoles her. With little or nothing to read, Lucy asks Jerzy to help her; he takes her to the Hospital's museum and gives her a copy of PETER PAN. Initially dismissing it as "kid's stuff," she eventually volunteers to read the book out loud to a group of children, who end up being captivated by the story.

There follows a largely faithful retelling of Barrie's tale with the added dimension of Lucy's operation to hook our interest. The stories are linked by Stanley Tucci who plays three roles - Captain Hook, Mr. Darling, and Dr. Wylie, the surgeon in charge of the operation. The device works extremely well in emphasizing the connection between the Hospital and Barrie's story (Barrie bequeathed the rights to the tale to the Hospital), as well as emphasizing the importance of the tale to take children's (and the narrator's) minds away from unpleasant realities and create instead a fantasy-world in which people never grow up. Barrie originally told the Pan stories orally as a means to compensate for personal tragedies; Lucy rehearses precisely the same role.

The narrative unfolds at a brisk pace, with the emphasis placed on Peter's (Zak Sutcliffe's) naivété; despite his bravado, he is quite simply a little boy lost, needing Lucy/Wendy's protection on his journey through the Never-Never Land. Tucci plays Hook with lip- smacking relish, but he is shown to be equally naive; his dislike of children owes a lot to his turbulent childhood when he was sent away to school by an unloving family. He needs Wendy as much as Peter.

There is perhaps only one jarring note in an otherwise charming production: Paloma Faith's Tinkerbell is apt to use the kind of bad language that some families might consider inappropriate for their offspring. It is not really necessary, and eventually becomes rather irritating.

Eventually the story ends happily for Peter, Wendy and Lucy. Although we mortals have to grow up, we can nonetheless exercise the power of our imaginations to project ourselves into that world where fantasy and reality are one.

An outstanding example of the way in which a classic story can be adapted with respect and effect. It pays due regard to inclusive values without metaphorically whacking the viewer over the head in a virtue-signalling way. The exact opposite of the recent (2019) BBC adaptation of A Christmas Carol. In short, a novel and enjoyable watch.