10 Dec 2023
Matt Adams and family were at the press night for this year’s Arena panto… But was it a hit or a miss?
It’s something of a gamble to move away from the traditional pantomime tales and present a bona fide sequel, but it’s tantamount to the talent and success of Evolution Productions that they felt confident enough to take a punt on Peter Pan.
After all, Disney have created an entire franchise out of the adventures of Tinkerbell and her fairy friends, so there’s definitely scope for developing J M Barrie’s original story of a boy who never grows up fighting pirates in a distant land of mermaids and Lost Boys.
Kicking off in The Happy Place, an orphanage for Lost Boys and Lost Girls rescued from the original Neverland, it wasn’t long before young Poppy Sunshine (Kira MacCarter) found herself taking a journey to the new realm of Foreverland via the third star to the right and straight on past B&Q, following a rendition of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Jocasta Almgill (Miss McDonnelly /Myrtle the Mermaid) which immediately set the bar high for vocal performance.
Whereas previous years’ productions might have saved the flying stunts until the finale, there was no holding back on the aerobatics from the onset, with Poppy, Peter (Samuel Bailey and Tinkerbell (Maddie Moate) taking turns to soar through the air during the course of the evening, but not before we meet Mrs Sweet – aka Arena stalwart Ian Kirkby – who burst onto stage with a blend of Aldi jokes and audience flirtation (poor Tom was the unlucky punter during Sunday’s press night).
“JM Barrie will be spinning in his grave,” he quips, ahead of various one-liners covering everything from rock band U2’s guitarist to Star Wars baddie Darth Vader.
The plot, such as it is, hinges on original Pan pirate’s son Captain Arthur K Hook, better known as Coronation Street actor Chris Gascoyne (Ken Barlow’s pernicious progeny Peter for the last 23 years) and his bid to seize the Essence of Dreams from its Foreverland hiding place.
Is it a dream or a story? We’re not quite sure, but Poppy soon finds herself caught up in an adventure involving Dave the dinosaur, jibes about Luton, water pistols (and nowhere is safe this year!), and some truly exceptional dancing, which all combine to produce your stand-out Arena panto experience.
The humour is on-point throughout the show, from Hook’s “You know your mums fancy me!” through to gags involving everything from types of sugar to 1970s cinema advertising. If you’re unlucky enough to be called Kevin then there’s no escape from the latest in a long line of slights about your moniker, but after enduring the Minions and ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’, you’ve probably resigned yourself to the inevitability of lending your name to oddball characters…
Of course, live theatre comes with its risks, but when it’s panto that’s part of the fun, so after Chris fluffed a few lines and the pirates’ boat became stuck at sea it was how the cast got out of their production predicament that made it even more enjoyable.
Repeat audiences won’t be disappointed by this year’s celebrity-focused wheelbarrow routine, the self-professed “legendary” ghost gag bench, and the messy slapstick sequence, this year involving Ian and Charlie (George Akid) trying and failing to create homemade ice cream!
Musically it is faultless, thanks largely to the talents of musical supervisor Alex Turney and director Matt Mellor, who worked alongside choreographer Pippa Holliday to create bespoke dance routines involving versions of songs ranging from Matilda the Musical’s Revolting Children and Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer, through to the Dropkick Murphys’ I’m Shipping Up To Boston (probably the winner of most obscure panto cover of 2023) and Gala Rizzatto’s anthemic Freed from Desire.
If you’re looking for a family friendly showpiece this Christmas then unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years you’ll know just how iconic the Alban Arena pantomime has become. Through the years it has maintained a level of quality and professionalism which never lets you down, even weathering the departure of legendary dame Bob Golding, and has proved to deliver a hit no matter the cast. The production team of Dorcas Wood, Paul Hendy and Emily Wood really have got it down to a T.
However, this year’s stand-out performance has to be Maddie Moate, whose all-round talent dominates the stage whenever she appears, proving she really is as magical as her character. Who would have thought the CBeebies scientist could deliver such an exceptional mix of singing, dancing and acting?
If you’ve yet to book your tickets for this year’s show, there are still slots available from https://alban-arena.co.uk/, but don’t wait too long as they’re being snapped up fast. Another triumphant blend of music and mayhem which doesn’t disappoint at any level. Five stars!
