Theatre review: Strong comedic cast helps Peter Pan Goes Wrong cue the chaos
In its most warped moments, this ode to stage disasters goes absolutely right
Photo by Eric Kozakiewicz, for the Citadel Theatre
Peter Pan Goes Wrong is at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage until October 16, presented by the Citadel Theatre, Kenny Wax Ltd, and Stage Presence Ltd & Kevin McCollum, in association with Arts Club Theatre Company
AS YOU SIT waiting for Peter Pan Goes Wrong to start, you become aware of stagehands in head sets running around more frantically than usual. When one of them goes to throw a large hammer to her colleague, thinking better of it at the last possible second, it’s clear to everyone that the show is already well under way. Except for the elderly theatregoer who frantically ducked for cover in the third row on the night this reviewer saw it.
Yes, even at the risk of potentially causing an octagenarian a heart attack, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, part of U.K.-based Mischief Theatre Company’s hit “Gone Wrong” series, is willing to go there.
The setup is that we are watching the fictional Cornley Drama Society’s perilously underfunded production of J.M. Barrie’s earnest classic, Peter Pan.
The problems only start with forgotten lines, stage fright, and love triangles amid the cast. Lights and mechanical chairs don’t just malfunction at the most inopportune times; the aerial wires, electrical short circuits, and shoddily built set decorations threaten serious bodily harm. (Never has a bunkbed seemed so menacing.) Which, of course, ups the laughs in this production—especially for those who love their comedy black, be it Monty Python, The Simpsons, or endless addictive hours watching people get hurt on YouTube.
By the looks of the audience on a recent night, that’s the vast majority of us—people (with the exception of the traumatized senior in Row 3) were killing themselves laughing throughout.
Make no mistake: farce-within-a-farce is insanely difficult to pull off—particularly one with this many technical cues, some of them potentially hazardous. The production here, directed by British Mischief Theatre veterans Adam Meggido and Fred Gray, is a feat; only rarely do the actors (understandably) hesitate and telegraph disaster amid the meticulously staged chaos.
There is no doubt that this is a formula—and as the show pulls into its second act, some of the gags start to wear thin. There’s one too many aerial upside-downs, and a running joke about a mistakenly taped gossip session that gets broadcast goes on way too long.
Then again, some gags are all the more absurdly hilarious for being pushed past their punchline; take Captain Hook’s extended attempt to uncork a bottle of poison with, well, his hook (actor Andrew MacDonald-Smith glaring daggers at anyone in the audience who dares to laugh). In those kinds of warped moments, Peter Pan Goes Wrong feels absolutely right.
Many of the show’s successes are due to the strong comedic acting across the board. That’s led by MacDonald-Smith in the multiple roles of Mr. Darling, Captain Hook, and the deadpan director of the show who longs deludedly to stage a polished production. In his opening speech, he lectures the audience about not shouting out like they do at Cornley’s famous pantos—and he becomes more and more enraged as we do, ad-libbing with hilarious ire.
To mention only a few of the other standouts: Oscar Derkx is a winning Max, who’s adorably mesmerized whenever the spotlight hits him. Chris Cochrane is a likable buffoon as the clumsy assistant director who’s been relegated to such thankless roles as Peter Pan’s shadow and the family dog. Jamie Cavanagh captures the cockiness of the not-quite-so-boyish Peter Pan. The ebullient Alexandra Brynn excels as a Wendy who seems to draw more on after-school cheerleading practice than acting school. And Sebastian Kroon nails it as a stagehand dude whose timing is cursed—occasionally because he’s glued to his cellphone.
This is not the witty, well-oiled machine of Noises Off, another production-gone-wrong farce recently remounted by the Arts Club at the Massey Theatre. This is not slick—nor was it ever meant to be. Unlike Cornley’s haughty onstage director, Peter Pan Goes Wrong is blissfully devoid of pretension. Go if you need a big laugh. Just watch out for the flying hammers.
Related Articles
