Theatre review: Peter Pan – The Arena Adventure, Hydro, Glasgow
Peter Pan – The Arena Adventure, Hydro, Glasgow ***
The huge Ovo Hydro in Glasgow is a space for spectacle and rock concerts, with the occasional burst of competitive sport thrown in; so it’s hardly surprising that those elements work best, in the massive stadium version of Peter Pan produced by World’s Biggest Productions that played in Glasgow over Hogmanay weekend.
The spectacle is terrific, and huge fun, as Boy George’s Captain Hook and his buccaneers arrive in the arena on a near life-size two-deck pirate galleon that tours the massive aisles of the Hydro space in elegantly menacing style, firing black balloon cannon-balls at the audience, and having them fired back again. That Boy George is a 24-carat rock star is also not in doubt; so when some of his greatest hits are cheerfully inserted into the Peter Pan plot, and he launches into classics like Karma Chameleon, the whole huge stadium springs to life, with little kids hopping in the aisles, and grown-ups cheering and singing along.
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Hide AdAnd in terms of storytelling, there’s no doubt that the larger and more competitive the action, the better it plays in this giant space. A brief sword-fight, some well-orchestrated flying, and a cruelly hilarious slapstick sequence (the only one I’ve seen in Scotland this year) in which Kelly Banlaki’s entertainingly earnest Wendy is plastered is with cream pies and showered by giant water pistols while singing soulful version of My Heart Will Go On, all work well for the near-capacity audience of thousands.
Attempts at verbal comedy, though, tend to fall flat, with even Jordan Conway’s sharp-tongued Pan – constantly mocking the story even as he tells it – struggling to time effective laughs in the giant space. The result is a half-hearted telling of an unsatisfying version of the tale, that messes around with JM Barrie’s storyline for no obvious reason. In the end, though, this show is less about storytelling, and more about pure theatrical fun and excitement on a giant scale; and it certainly provides bucketloads of that, as the galleon tours the auditorium once more, a revived Tinkerbelle flies high over the stage, fireworks explode, and the whole show sails on to its final winter dates, in Nottingham and London.
Not, though, that the departure of Boy George and his crew marks the end of Scotland’s Christmas theatre season. For those lucky enough to find a ticket, for example, the current five-star touring version of Wicked, the fabulous Wizard Of Oz spin-off musical, runs on at the Playhouse in Edinburgh until 14 January.
There are also a generous handful of pantos still playing until 7 January; these include this year’s versions of Sleeping Beauty at His Majesty’s in Aberdeen and Eden Court in Inverness, and Ayr Gaiety Theatre’s lovely home-made version of Cinderella. In Kirkcaldy, it’s still just possible – until 6 January – to catch the terrific locally-made panto Ya Wee Beauty And The Beastie, full of feeling for Kirkcaldy, its joys and its problems, at the tiny King’s Theatre on the Esplanade.
And in Glasgow, finally, panto-goers can still revel in one giant panto at the King’s until 7 January – a traditional version of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, starring Elaine C Smith and Johnny Mac – and in two of the city’s trademark subversive meta-pantos. At Oran Mor, there’s Johnny McKnight’s enjoyably rude and cheeky adult take on the Snow White story, Snow White And the Seven Maws, running until 6 January; and – at the Tron until 7 January – McKnight’s magnificent new take on his own Aganeza Scrooge, a Christmas Carol version set in 2020s Glasgow. This time around, the show features an almost all-female cast, led by a superb Louise McCarthy as Aganeza; and for anyone over 11, it offers a fine and even thought-provoking Christmas satire, as well as pocket-sized explosion of pure theatrical fun, on the Tron’s small but magical stage.