Pantomime Review: Peter Pan, Epstein Theatre, Liverpool

Image Source: Epstein Theatre

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Format: Pantomime
Genre: Comedy
Date: December 11 2017
Location: Epstein Theatre, Liverpool

The Epstein panto is as much an annual Christmas tradition as mince pies, work parties and the visit of the Coca-Cola truck which the usual doom-and-gloomers have been inexplicably trying to block. The formula is slightly switched up this year in a few ways, which combined with the usual big laughs and occasionally mature levels of humour (which the younger kids thankfully don't cotton onto), ensures that Peter Pan is another great festive offering.

Yes, Peter Pan; not traditionally a story which is brought to life in pantomime form, but one which perfectly adapts to the setting when performed by this experienced and talented crew. Here, Lewis Pryor takes up the title role, and quickly catches the eye of Wendy (Joanne Harper) as they travel to Neverland with a little help from Tinkerbell (Claire Simmo).

However, there are dangers ahead, not least Captain Hook (Dane Bowers), who wants to have Peter Pan killed for his own personal rewards, and is willing to go to another level (sorry) to do it. He has assistance from the daft Smee (Chris Barton) and the even dafter Dame Betty (Michael Chapman), but resistance from Tiger Lily (Georgia Austin) and the magic of Neverland ensures that the battle goes down to the wire, with Peter Pan not only needing to survive the dastardly Hook, but also slowly becoming attracted to Wendy. Will there be true love, and will Hook's evil plot be taken down?

Everyone performs to a high standard, as is the norm for the Epstein pantos. Several children were drafted into the cast as The Lost Children, and several kids had some hilarious lines, with one or two having that talent of making people laugh through simple facial expressions and mannerisms. As is often the case, there were plenty of jokes about local people and situations (the idea of a "drawn-out and depressing" situation for Peter Pan was initially assumed by Smee to be describing an Everton game), and the settings were very well-crafted in an attempt to create the most authentic Neverland backdrops possible. Top it off with some cool visual effects (such as characters flying and pyrotechnics), plenty of dance routines (though some of the dancers appeared to wish that they were somewhere else), colourful costumes, and some clever in-jokes (at one point there appeared to be production issues, only for it to be the set-up for one of the show's funnier planned scenes), and you have a really enjoyable panto experience for all the family.

Not for the first time, though, it's Michael Chapman as Dame Betty who steals the show with loads of great one-liners. The tone was set very early on with some near-the-knuckle jokes relating to certain well-known faces on television, and they continued throughout the show. At times, "risqué" would have been a generous way to describe such lines as her true name being "Betty Swallocks" and her somewhat intimate suggestion for Hook to pop around her house. Many of the attendees were in uproar laughing at Betty's remarks, and there's no doubt that her character is the one that people will most remember when seeing the show. The audience themselves contributed at times (one youngster hilariously shouted "Lewis!" to Peter Pan when he was in danger), though some attendees unfortunately tried to take over the entire show at one point, which is never a good thing. Otherwise, though, this was a lot of fun.

I would heartily recommend that you bring the family along to see Peter Pan at the Epstein over Christmas. You'll have a great time, and everyone will be feeling truly Christmassy when all is said and done. Just be prepared for some potentially awkward questions from the little 'uns afterwards!

Overall Rating: 9/10 - Outstanding

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Format: Pantomime
Genre: Comedy
Date: March 25 2016
Location: Epstein Theatre, Liverpool, England

It's Easter time, which can only mean one thing: it's panto season!

Well, okay, that's usually around Christmas time, but over the last few years, Easter has become an additional point of annual pantomime, led on a local level by the Epstein Theatre and their latest production (well, as created by LHK Productions), Snow White.

Now, I've attended several Epstein pantos so I kind of know what to expect in regards to the general structure and the overall story, although this one had the benefit of some surprise characters and several classic sing-a-long tunes to be incorporated into the show. And, of course, anyone who has attended previous pantos will expect a child-friendly story of good vs. evil, almost always giving the audience the desired happy ending (imagine the tears in the theatre if it had a sad conclusion).

Snow White follows the story of, erm, Snow White (played by Georgia Austin), who having been mistreated by her evil stepmother the Wicked Witch (played by Debi Jones) is unexpectedly informed about the incoming arrival of Prince Charming (played by James Hill), who is planning to marry "the fairest lady of them all". Of course, the haggard old witch knows that Snow White has her beat in this department, so she orders her henchman (Tom Burroughs) to take Snow into the forest and have her killed. But he can't bring himself to do the dirty deed, and so Snow is instead told to run for her life, in the hope that she will find safety and somehow be connected with the Prince in the future.

Cue music numbers, both those relevant to the story and some pop tunes interweaved into a few bonus dance scenes (which feature a cast of more than a dozen young dance performers), the casting of director Michael Chapman in his regular role as a drag artist with a risqué sense of humour (his character here is Dame Debbie, or Double D - yes, that's a pun), the starring of Muddles (Lewis Pryor) as Debbie's dim-witted yet likeable son, the use of a fairy (Olivia Horton) to introduce parts and key scenes, and some cameos by Ricky Tomlinson on The Magic Mirror (incidentally, Ricky was sat a few rows in front of me, so at certain points I was watching Ricky watching Ricky, which was a bit surreal), and a whole host of jokes which varied from being kid-friendly to some adult-themed double entendres that would have flown over the heads of the younger ones. Oh, and there were seven dwarves too.

Unfortunately, though, the viewing experience of this particular pantomime was not on the level of previous pantos, and that was due to the poor audio quality. I was sat in the upper deck for this show, and for much of the show I could barely hear what the characters were saying, from the plot-moving announcements to the frequent one-liners. Things did improve in the second half but only slightly, which obviously meant that the story couldn't be followed as easily (although the plot is a relatively simple one), and more importantly many jokes couldn't be heard, including Ricky's contributions on the Magic Mirror. For that reason, one could not enjoy the show in the same way that I had with other pantos, at least not from my seating point.

The performances were good, though. Dame Debbie provided plenty of laughs as usual, and Muddles had some clever jokes as well. Georgia Austin did a fine job playing the damsel in distress that is Snow White and her singing was pretty good, making her the stand-out performer of the night. As stated, Ricky was quite funny when you could hear him (he seemed to be cast as Jim Royle as opposed to Ricky Tomlinson, not that that is a bad thing), whilst James Hill initially seemed nervous but eventually settled into the Prince Charming character. And Burroughs played the Henchman well, at times having some funny lines of his own. There was also the regular interlude whereby Chapman, in character, invited young children on stage to win some prizes, which due to the unexpected nature of the kids is usually a show highlight, as it was here.

There were some other slightly dodgy aspects of the production (some curtain movements and lighting changes happened in such a way that you knew they weren't meant to happen, one or two characters muddled up their lines or dropped their props, and the dwarves were oversized which, while making the dwarf costumes look lifelike, actually made them bigger than the main characters). On the bright side, speaking of costumes, the attires were very good, especially for the closing wedding scene and, of course, Snow White's costume throughout most of the show. The sets were kept simple and, to that end, were true to the story.

Overall, then, the kids should enjoy the story of Snow White as told by this production, and the adults should have a good time as well due to Debbie's more risky jokes. My only advice to theatregoers is that they try to sit in the lower deck so that they can take in more of the show than I did, at least from an audio standpoint. Had the sound not been such a major issue, the rating below would probably be a lot higher.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable