Review: Peter Pan, The Barn Theatre

Peter Pan, a story of pirates, adventures, eternal youth and, what we all crave at times, escapism. But this is Peter Pan like you’ve never seen him before…

A man enters out of the rain and thunder, into an empty hotel room. Desperate not to miss her bedtime, he calls his daughter who is three thousand miles away. What starts as a simple bedtime story told by a father to his young child, turns into an adventure like no other. 

Waylon Jacobs, the only actor onstage, portrays each character perfectly without missing a beat. His physicality and stage presence draws you in from the moment he enters the space. With it being a one man show, you run the risk of the stage feeling empty, but that is not the case for this production. Kirk Jameson’s direction sees that Jacobs uses every single part of the stage, utilising the space and creating a believable world.

A particularly magical moment for me is when we first travel through “the second star to the right and straight on till morning”. The atmospherical dry ice pours off the stage and into the audience; a young audience member in front of me reached into the aisle and attempted to grab it, like he was trying to touch some of the magic. 

The set, lighting and sound design marries together perfectly to transport the audience to Neverland. There is such an immersive feel to the piece, that there are times when I forgot that I was not in fact on the decks of the Jolly Rodger, but in a theatre. There are also some clever uses of props. There is a stunning moment when the handle of an umbrella transforms into the Captain’s famous hook before our eyes.

The projection design by Benjamin Collins is an absolute highlight. The stop motion animation, in the style of children’s drawings, opens the door into the imagination of the little girl hearing the story; giving the audience an insight into what the characters and settings look like inside her head.

The Barn Theatre has once again pulled off the almost impossible and put on a fantastic piece of theatre in these most challenging of times. This production is the definition of a family show. Whether you’re just discovering Peter’s story for the first time, or if you’ve heard the story a thousand times before, this charming show will help bring some festive cheer this Christmas.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by Elle Knowles