We were gifted tickets to this performance
Last night my son and I went along to The Alexandra, Birmingham, to see Peter Pan Goes Wrong.
If you’ve not seen this one or heard about it, here’s a little about it…
The members of the Cornley Drama Society are back on stage, battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes as they attempt to present J.M Barrie’s much-loved tale. But will they ever make it to Neverland?
My son adored Peter Pan when he was little. I have a photo of him wearing a Peter Pan costume on his third birthday, he loved him. We watched so many different versions of the film, so it’s fair to say we’re familiar with the story and this seemed like a great choice to take my son to the theatre.
We don’t go together often as the theatre tends to be something my daughter loves more than my son, but this one appealed and I thought it would be interesting to see what my typically non-theatre fan thought of this play. And spoiler – he loved it!
We really didn’t know what to expect, with the ‘goes wrong’ element to this. We hoped it would be funny, but honestly, we didn’t expect it to be as good as it was! Even reading through the program makes you laugh.
The idea is that the Cornley Drama Society are putting on a show, so you get to hear from the director and co-director as they introduce the performance.
The traditional Peter Pan story is then told, but with so many mishaps, mistakes and chaos along the way from the cast and the set.
I can’t even begin to list the things that go wrong, it is one thing after another, all cleverly performed.
The cast were lots of fun, all playing their parts perfectly. My son and I particularly enjoyed Jack Michael Stacey’s Mr Darling and Captain Hook. He makes an exit from the stage in Act One that we were still giggling about this morning and then he has some great audience engagement in Act Two, my boy’s favourite part of the show.
The narrator, played by Jean-Luke Worrell, also managed to make some spectacular entrances and exits. Thinking about a couple of those has us laughing again!
We laughed so much. It was just one funny thing after another, it really was that chaotic. The audience laughed all night long, and I can’t remember being at a performance with that much laughter before.
It was the perfect play to take my son to, he had a great night and I would absolutely recommend it to children and adults alike. It’s suggested in the program that it suits kids aged 8 and up, so if you’re looking for a live theatre performance to take your children to, this is the one.
Of course, my son now wants to go to the theatre all the time, and Peter Pan Goes Wrong has set that bar high.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong is running at The Alexandra Birmingham Mon 18 March – Sat 23 March 2024. It gets my 11 year old’s stamp of approval.
Is this one you’d enjoy?
Disclosure: We were gifted tickets to this performance