Review: Peter Pan Pantomime at the Wyvern Theatre

Where shall we go to this Christmas time - why Neverland of course!

Once again the Wyvern Theatre has outdone itself this Pantomime season by bringing to Swindon the magical world of J.M. Barrie's iconic Peter Pan about the mischievous young boy who can fly and never grow up and we at Total Guide to Swindon were delighted to be invited to attend the Press Night last night to review their latest annual offering.

Our delightful night begins in the bedroom of the Darling children - Wendy, John and Michael. While they are sleeping Peter Pan and Tinkerbell fly through their bedroom window to retrieve Peter's shadow.  Awakened Wendy helps him find it and when the other children wake up Tinkerbell sprinkles them with fairy dust and they all fly off to Neverland where the rollicking adventure begins.

Audience participation is a must with Pantomime and the Wyvern's offering has this in bucket loads. The children in the audience participated with all their worth and were a delight to behold. Total Guide were lucky enough to be joined by 5 year old Ava who was as enchanting to watch as the actors! There are some side-splitting set pieces especially The 12 Days of Christmas which included custard pie throwing and a riotous accidental fall and also a scene where we the audience participated in pelting the villains with polystyrene rocks!

What a delight to have Adam Woodyatt return to Pantomime at the Wyvern.  He portrays Captain Hook magnificently playing the embittered Captain Hook perfectly. He is obviously relishing in the role - his enjoyment of the role is infectious and we all loved booing and hissing him. Please return to Panto in Swindon Adam - we love having you here.

Ryan Anderson is a very talented Peter Pan with great singing and dancing skills and wonderful acrobatic flying. Antony Lawrence is a hilarious Smee (Captain Hook's right hand man - or should I say left hand man as Hook is slightly lacking in that department having had that hand eaten by the crocodile!) He gave a splendid, energetic performance which brought the house down on several occasions. All the other cast were outstanding including Danielle Black as Tiger Lily, Abigail Matthews as Tinkerbell and Lucy Pollard as Wendy.

It is heartwarming to know that J.M. Barrie donated all rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and to this day the Hospital receives royalties every time a production is staged.  So treat yourself and your families to an amazing trip to Neverland and also help a magnificent cause - what better way to celebrate the meaning of Christmas.

Photography Credit: Pete Dewhirst