LIKE so many theatres across the country, Strode Theatre in Street is facing difficult times. Situated in the first county in the UK to “proudly” proclaim it had stopped all arts funding, the theatre has to maintain and shout about its position as an educational hub and a place where the community in a wide area around comes to be entertained and to entertain.

The annual pantomime is a vital part of the fund-raising that keeps the wheels turning for the rest of the year, and so an in-house produced Christmas show not only almost guarantees bums-on-seats but also means that all the profits can be ploughed back into the venue.

This year’s show at the Strode College campus theatre is Peter Pan, in a new version adapted from the beloved original by Josh Coley. Director and choreographer Dean Brammall describes it as a “modern reimagining”. What it does allow is a substantial portion of excellent and inventive dancing, involving a large cast of young local performers – giving them a glittering opportunity to show their talents in a big show.

The opening set is a sort of urban wasteland of rubbish and staircases. Wendy, Mimi and John Darling live with their single parent mother, with not just the familiar Nana the dog but a Norland nanny, named McSmee, whose job it is to keep them safe (and exchange double-entendres with an unfortunate man in the audience).

Enter Peter, posing as a poverty-stricken child. He takes the siblings off to Neverland, accompanied by the truculent Tink, and there they meet Hook, a Smee without a Mc, mermaids, ticking clocks, Lost Boys … and all the familiar characters.

Every conceivable opportunity for a big dance number is eagerly taken, with music under the direction of Phoebe Petrov and extra choreography by Lucy Nicholson. With a cast numbering 35, all of them excellent dancers, it is a terpsichorean treat for the fans as well as parents and friends. The show rather assumes that everyone in the audience knows the story of the Darling children and the boy who never grows up, and while many do know it, those who don’t – often the younger ones – are not always captivated.

Edmund Boulton-Roberts returns in the title role, after his turn as Alex in the 2023 show. He is joined by the charming Georgina Sweet as Wendy, Flo Miller as Tink, Arthur MacDonald as a Hook who truly swashes his buckle, and the loveable Dan Siggs as Smee, with Strode Theatre regular Dominic Sanford as the Nanny with the widest hoop skirt in the West. The younger Darlings are played by Finlay Blackman as John and Aquilla O’Dell-Notaro and Savannah-Christine Pope sharing the role of Mimi.

There really are too many people on stage to mention everyone, but there is no question that everyone involved put a huge amount of hard work and talent into this Peter Pan, which continues until New Year’s Eve.

GP-W

 

Photographs by Len Copland