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A spectacular finale full of gold and glitter. Pictures: Paul Coltas Peter Pan Birmingham Hippodrome ***** Peter Pan has flown in with an awfully big adventure to fill the Hippodrome stage with a spectacular, laugh out loud funny, fast paced, gloriously daft panto . . . oh yes he has. And it’s all led by Matt Slack, in his 11th consecutive panto, an undisputed fan favourite who has that priceless ability to get a laugh merely by walking on stage. Whatever the story or plot, you know he is never going to take it seriously, a well-honed skill he has turned into an art form, he is there to have fun and invite the audience to go along with him – a sort of panto Pied Piper. Amid the out and out daftness are some clever and witty routines, his tale of flags is a gem and you will never think of Bangladesh the same again, while he shows he could have an alternative career as an impressionist. The Hippodrome is having a 125th birthday and Slack and Andrew Ryan, back for his eighth time and 34th year as a Dame, combine with their wonderful comedy familiarity to give us a very clever song listing many of the shows that have graced the Hippodrome stage over the years sung to Offenbach’s Galop infernal to give it it’s Sunday name – that’s the Can Can for the rest of the week.
Matt Slack as Mr Smee . . . this year . . . And this year Ryan has been released, so to speak, he is still the dame as Mrs Sylvia Smee, in some fabulous costumes that stretch the limits of outrageous, but we see another side to him in what becomes a big production number, dressed in a more elegant showtime costume, almost mimicking Albin with La Cage aux Folles’s gay anthem, I am What I am. You don’t get many showstoppers in Panto, oh no you don’t, but this managed it, showing us another side to Ryan’s talent. Amid all the laughs we suddenly had a more serious, almost moving note. In her second year in panto came Brum’s own Alison Hammond with her own brand of bubbly, infectious fun and what appears to be genuine comedy chemistry between her and Slack. She is the Magical Mermaid – not that that means a great deal in terms of plot and storyline which were . . . let’s just say they were less of a priority than laughs and having fun. Technically Slack’s Smee is a pirate and thus a baddy, not that you would notice, but the real baddy, the one you boo, was Captain Hook, with Danny Mac sneering and threatening his wicked way through proceedings with commendable style. His baddy was a real good bad and he proved he’s quite a song and dance man when called upon in an excellent bad performance . . . you know what we mean. He is another who has that comedy chemistry with Slack, especially when we discovered his hook was an optional extra, still he has to keep his hand in somehow . . . Andrew Ryan all fired up once more as the dame, Mrs Sylvia Smee And another with a notable performance was Billie-Kay as Tink. In her second Hippo panto, she was Princess Jill last year, she opens the show with her big number and a couple of beats in and her radio mic failed but without missing a beat she carried on as if nothing had happened, heard only by the front row or so, until a hand held mic appeared and sound was seamlessly restored. A real trouper with that true performer’s show must go on attitude – and she did have a lovely voice when sound was restored. Meanwhile back at the plot, Noah Harrison has a lovely playful charm as Peter Pan . . . Peter Pan, remember?. . . he looks and sound the part, while Rhiannon Chesterman is a feisty Wendy Darling. They provide a sort of love interest, and they do fly, but let’s be honest, there are not a lot of laughs in romance so their story is sort of implied rather than enacted. As for the rest of the Darling children Cian Hughes is a splendid John while on Press night Stanley-Joe Catley appeared as one of three possible Michaels, the other two playing the role being Paolo Diomisi and Olly Jupe. As a panto everything about it is class from big budget sets from Mark Walters to a fabulous ensemble who bring Karen Bruce’s sparkling choreography to life, to the fabulous, colourful costumes from Teresa Nalton and Mike Coltman. Some of the costumes make magnificent an understatement, with change after change, scene after scene, with the ensemble, and cast in spectacular gold costumes for the finale. And everything is played out to the big band sound from MD Robert Willis and his seven piece orchestra. Matt Peploe’s sound is well balanced, Ben Cracknell’s lighting always interesting whether filling the auditorium with stars or highlighting scenes while the script adapted (a word doing a lot of heavy lifting there) from J M Barrie’s original by Harry Michaels and Matt Slack squeezes out every last laugh it can to create a panto for all the family. All right, there are a few lines and jokes you would struggle to explain to a youngster, but it flies over their heads with jokes coming so thick and fast they don’t have time to ask and, after all, innuendo is part of the panto tradition. The Twins FX have provided the special effects including a flying car to drive us to the interval, and also one of the mysteries of the night with a huge, stage filling, animated crocodile with glowing eyes and huge opening and closing jaws which appears looming out over the audience for a few moments at the start of the panto, Hook’s legendary nemesis, yet the old croc is never seen again. Strange. Hardly a detraction though from what is a wonderful panto. My grandchildren thought it was the best yet, and it is hard to disagree. Spare a thought though for Robin Hood and Matt Slack with next year’s panto – all we can say is top that! Directed by legendary producer and impresario Michael Harrison, Peter Pan will be flying high to 02-02-25. Roger Clarke 23-12-24 And a grandchild's view . . . "It was an amazing experience filled
with laughs, amazing animatronics and great acting. I enjoyed this a lot
and thought I would definitely go next year. A stand out for me was Matt
Slack as he was very funny and was really good actor. Also for me the backing dancers were
exceptional this year. They put lots of effort in and tried really hard.
I thought they were amazing and brought the show together really well. I
do think Alison Hammond brings a lot of personality to the show and it
is the first time I have seen Danny Mac in anything and he was very
good. It would be nice to see him again next year. I think that Peter Pan should have been
given a bigger part, but I do get that it's pantomime and anything can
happen. Overall I thought it was a very good panto with plenty of laughs
and the perfect cast.
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