BWW Reviews: PETER PAN, Chickenshed, November 29 2014

In the front row, a teenage girl pointed at the stage, her eyes burning with excitement, before turning to her companion and hugging her as the magic of theatre all but overcame them. That the young lady was disabled mattered not at all - Chickenshed affects everyone that way, and never more so than at their Christmas Show which this year revisits Peter Pan.

Not a panto, the show is a faithful retelling of the rather strange JM Barrie classic. So we get the canine nanny Nana (Jelana Budimir), the slightly prissy inbetweener Wendy (Cerys Lambert in flowing blond locks) and the ambivalent character of Tinkerbell (Georgina Jacobs) whom the children revive with their belief in fairies. Most of all - of course - we have Peter (Sebastian Gozalez) himself, convincingly flying about the stage as he leads the Lost Boys in their battles with dastardly pirates led by the demonic Captain Hook (Joseph Morton).

Told with catchy songs, funny jokes and a spectacular set, two hours passes swiftly enough for even the smallest of children to hold attention (though Hook may be a little scary for the youngest) and the tumultuous applause at the curtain tells its own tale. But there's a sense in which the story of Peter is subsumed by the story of the teeming masses who - as ever at Chickenshed - add so much to the production. So many kids drawn from right across society are on stage making it happen that the show becomes less about a boy who wanted to stay a boy and a girl who wanted to be a mother, but about boys and girls everywhere. It's a lesson taught through entertainment by this unique company who look well set for another 40 years - and then some.

Peter Pan continues at Chickenshed until 10 January