Flying Start for White City's New Troubadour Theatre

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Peter Pan provides a spectacular school holiday treat

Pictures by Steve Tanner

White City's new pop-up Troubadour Theatre is launching this summer with a family friendly holiday treat in the shape of a spectacular production of Peter Pan.

This show, first seen at Bristol Old Vic and then reconceived at the National Theatre in 2016, offers dancing, singing, laughter, a few sniffles ... and lots of flying.

This 'Meccano-style' venue, built in just three months in the former car park on the corner of Wood Lane and South Africa Road, has two separate theatres, with Peter Pan taking over the larger one, capable of seating up to 1,200 people.

This, I imagine means it will prove difficult to fill - the matinee I attended was less than half full. However it does provide plenty of space for the cast to clip on wires and soar - and sometimes spin and somersault - high above the stage, and at one point above the audience, much to the delight of the children below.

The show, directed by Sally Cookson, stays close to the plot of the original JM Barrie story, with the three Darling children persuaded by the visiting Peter to fly out of their Bloomsbury bedroom window and through the skies to Neverland, home to the Lost Boys, menacing pirates, dangerously seductive mermaids, wolves, fairies and of course the evil Captain Hook and her nemesis, the crocodile which has ticked ever since swallowing an alarm clock.

Yes, this time round Hook is female, complete with flashing silver teeth, voluminous purple skirts, bovver boots and a fearsome metal appendage which she puts to very bad use. She is played with obvious relish by Kelly Price, who shows her versatility by also taking on the role of Mrs Darling.

In fact, most of the cast take on double or even triple roles, including Shiv Rabheru, who must by now be an expert at lightning speed swaps between Tshirt and jeans as Lost Boy Curly, stripy pirate overcoat and tutu, wings and twinkling headdress for the part of the adorably stroppy Tinker Bell, who jabbers in a fairy language only Peter can translate.

Though the children around me were enthralled, at two and a half hours the production may be too long, and perhaps a little too dark, for the smaller ones. I also felt that some of the slower, talkier scenes could have been shorter.

However, there is lots to enjoy, with an exuberant cast led by very sympathetic performances from John Pfumojena and Daisy Maywood in the lead roles of Peter and Wendy. The final scene with the unchanged Peter, the boy who will never grow up, returning to find Wendy, all grown up and no longer able to to fly, was especially touching.

There is also some excellent music from composer Benji Bower and the onstage band and children will be captivated by the imaginative use of lighting, simple props and the range of puppets created by Toby Olie. Including of course, that nasty tick tocky crocodile, lurking and waiting for the chance to to snap up its arch-enemy.

Peter Pan will run at the Troubadour Theatre until 27 October from Wednesday till Sunday with two performances at 2pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, performances at 7.30pm on Friday and 2pm on Sunday.

This inaugural summer season also offers the TroubaKids Festival, featuring four productions playing in rep from at 10am and midday. Little Baby Bum Live, Monstersaurus!, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show and Aliens Love Underpants.

Although the structure is officially temporary, the theatre is expected to be in place in White City for at least three years and while it also promises to present concerts, exhibitions and conferences, if it continues to offer child friendly productions like this one I can see it becoming a firm favourite with local families. Not least because, unlike the vast majority of London's venues, it has an abundance of loos!

You can read more about What's On at Troubadour White City and book tickets here.

August 2, 2019