Panto Fun with Peter Pan at the Key Theatre

We don’t often go to pantomimes. I think the last (and my first time) was a few years ago. So when we were invited to the Press Night at the Key Theatre we decided to go…the bonus was it was Peter Pan and I love Peter Pan.

We were seated about 6 rows from the stage and thankfully had no-one in the row in front of us so had a good view of the stage. Although the Key Theatre is such that wherever you sit you usually have a good view.

With this being a panto then of course things were going to be slightly mixed up. Wendy was a strong girl, with conversations about equal pay being thrown in and don’t even mention that she should cook and clean for all the lost children. Why should she just because she is a girl??

All the cast were really strong and you could really feel their presence when they were on stage. Katie Pritchard as Tinker Bell and Rebecca Levy as Peter Pan brought the stage to life as indeed did all the others. I was particularly impressed by the lost children. These were local children and their acting and singing skills were brilliant. Look out for these little stars in the future.

Richard Costello  brought out the villainous nature of Captain Hook and received quite a few boos. It was good to then see him swallowed up by an inflatable crocodile! But along with his two sidekicks was a pretty entertaining part of the panto!

Anthony Hoggard as Nanny Goggins and Josh Haberfields as Little Johnnie (not so little) brought lots of laughs from the audience.

There was something for all! Local references were made with some adult jokes which most children wouldn’t get. The audience were also encouraged to join in and be part of the family of Lost Children by knowing their secret greeting and having to then make the sounds when they came on stage; in this instance it was pretending to be a chicken clucking! The children enjoyed joining in along with the adults. Definitely an entertaining show for all the family!

A great way to spend a few hours in the Christmas Holidays. Lots of audience participation and banter made it a fun filled panto. But if you want to go make sure you book your tickets soon as the seats are filling up fast! You can book on the Vivacity website. Tickets range from £12 – 18.50

Image credits of the cast: Key Theatre

Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets for the press night. All thoughts and opinions are our own.