Review: WENDY & PETER PAN, Barbican Centre

Girls rule ok in Ella Hickson's enchanting revival of the Darling children's "second star to the right and then straight on until morning" journey to Neverland ­– first performed in 2013 and now showing at the Barbican for a five-week run.

It's about time we heard the story from Wendy's point-of-view. Portrayed in JM Barrie's classic book as a goody-goody who mothers her brothers and then the Lost Boys, Wendy ­– and other key females, such as Tiger Lily and Tinkerbell (known as Tink in this version) – are given agency to be as brave and independent as the boys.

This doesn't mean feminist tracts are stuffed down our throats. Hickson's script is light and witty, with deeper tinges of loss, love and liberation that all children ­– young and old ­– can relate to. And of course, there's all the added fun of pirates, fairies and a ticking crocodile (played by a slithering Harrison Claxton in a green tailcoat and top hat).

Jonathan Munby's production ­– earlier shown at the Tokyo Olympics and Leeds Playhouse – flies along at an exhilarating pace, from the children's nursery to the forested home of Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys.

A fabulous set by Colin Richmond switches seamlessly from a colourful nursery with brass beds and stained-glass window, to a steam-punk Peter Pan world with an enormous tree, old claw-foot tub and bicycle-powered energy source. More is yet to come when a looming pirate ship, with terrifying skull figurehead, gets a collective gasp from the audience when it sails onto the stage.

Hannah Saxby's Wendy is a bit shrill and a bit shouty at first, but does come into her own sword-swashbuckling self in the second half. Watching the shift from helpless Edwardian damsel in distress to young woman taking control – and finally flying smoothly in the air ­– is a joy to see.

To cheer up her grieving parents (a playful Toby Stephens as Mr Darling and warm Lolita Chakrabarti as Mrs Darling), Wendy searches for her dead brother, Tom (Alexander Molony), who dies from an unspecified illness. She travels with her brothers John (a boisterous Fred Woodley Evans) and Michael (Kwaku Mills duly captures his less-confident persona).

Fairies are represented ingenuously by small twinkling handheld lights that chirp gently – and a large, punkish, red-headed Tink (Charlotte Mills nails it with panto dame vigour) in scruffy pink tutu, hoop earrings and lace-up boots. "Tink gets big when she's full of feeling," says Peter.

Daniel Krikler's Peter displays the dichotomy of a young man, who doesn't know what a kiss is, trying to emerge in the body of a boy who will forever remain a child. Krikler's admirable performance is hugely athletic and physical, while at the same time innocent and engaging.

A welcome addition to the production is Peter's shadows, a group of five youths clad in grey vests and stripey trousers, and with red tufts in their hair. They line up behind Peter, and follow him and the action through beautifully choreographed movements by Lucy Hind.

Other scene stealers include a wonderfully camp Smee (Scott Karim), who longs to live with Captain Hook in a cottage. He even shows us some Farrow and Ball-esque colour swatches to create a perfectly designed home for the two of them. And Joe Hewetson's Martin the Cabin Boy – a gentle, weedy philosopher-of-sorts pirate. 

Along with playing the role of a bemused Mr Darling, Stephens is a worn-out and cynical Captain Hook. Doubling up as Wendy's father and pirate villain, who holds her prisoner on the Jolly Roger, he echoes two forms of misogyny Wendy learns to deal with.

Eventually, we come full circle to Mrs Darling dealing with the patriarchy problem in her own way. As well as telling Wendy "to trust her instincts," she also declares she's going to work as a seamstress, and campaign for workers' rights and women's education. Mr Darling says he'll help out best he can: "I'll do the clothes flattening thing you do."

There might be one too many fight scenes and some scenes could be trimmed to bring the running time down. And yet, the Royal Shakespeare Company's at its best here, with inventive costumes from Richmond, music by Shuhei Kamimura ranging from soft piano melodies to daring-do adventure tracks, assured stage management from Joni Carter and Oliver Fenwick's candlelit and full-on battle scene lighting. 

Do take your family to see this spectacular staging of Wendy & Peter Pan as a pre-Christmas treat. It's an awfully big adventure for girls, boys and adults alike. An awfully big adventure for all.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's Wendy & Peter Pan runs until 22 November at the Barbican Centre.