Reviews: J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre

A reviews round-up for Peter Pan at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre

Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel’s clever new production of Peter Pan opened at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this week. Normally a winter time production, this re-imagining of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale has been a hit with the critics.

Peter Pan plays Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre from 15 May 2015 until 14 June 2015.

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CAST

Hiran Abeysekera leads the cast as Peter Pan with Kae Alexander as Wendy, Jacob James Beswick andChris Lew Kum Hoi as Twin, David Birrell as Captain Hook, Thomas Dennis as Michael, Rachel Donovan as Tinkerbell, Eben Figueiredo as Tootles, Richard James-Neale as Curly, Patrick Osborne as John, Thomas Pickles as Slightly, Carl Prekopp as Gentleman Starkey, Beverly Rudd as Smee, George Bukhari as Nibs, and Okorie Chukwu, Owain Gwynn, Jonathan Holby, and Arthur Kyeyune who play Pirates.

CREATIVE

Directed by Timothy Sheader & Liam Steel, with set design by Jon Bausor, costume design by Jon Morrell, puppetry design by Rachael Canning, composed by Nick Powell, musical supervision by Candida Caldicot, lighting design by Rick Fisher, sound design by Nick Lidster, and fight direction by Kate Waters.

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Average Critics Rating

★★★★

REVIEWS ROUND-UP

The Daily Telegraph

★★★★

"the elegant, poetic irony that shadows the action is unmistakable; it’s a shimmering mix of dream and nightmare.”
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The Stage

★★★★★

“A hugely entertaining, richly imaginative adaptation that also lends perspective to the ideologies of the First World War.” “Directors Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel remember the first generation of Peter Pan’s readers by using the conflict of the First World War as a catalyst for re-imagining the play with a cast of adult actors. Jon Bausor has surpassed himself in creating a stunning Neverland that cuts through the khaki and grey of the war as sharply as Nick Powell’s haunting original score”
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The Guardian

★★★

“Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel’s clever new production, set in a military hospital, soars with ingenuity but doesn’t reach the magic height of JM Barrie’s original” “The sight of Hiran Abeysekera’s dauntless Peter soaring into the night air, suspended from Jon Bausor’s overhead steel gantries, is genuinely exhilarating.”
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Financial Times

★★★★

“It’s sprightly, imaginative and terrific fun, but it is also immensely poignant.” “Some key episodes are rather rushed — the famous audience resurrection of Tinkerbell, for instance — and a quieter, stealthier crocodile would add more tension. But the staging balances beautifully the fun — the flying, led by Hiran Abeysekera’s charismatic and impish Peter, is joyous; the Lost Boys are sweetly, awkwardly innocent; the pirates are a bumbling assembly of foes from across the ages — with the ever-present shadow of war.”
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