Reviewed by Christine Pyman, 20th February 2014
J M Barrie's classic tale of the boy who never grew up,
Peter Pan, is being presented by community theatre group, Reverb Theatre, in the Brighton High School's purpose built Performing Arts Centre.
Reverb was created by former students of BHS, Jade Walsh and Mark Oakley, and is becoming a formidable organisation, showcasing multiple skills.
Multiple roles were also a demanding feature of this performance, credibly carried off, with particular note of Madeleine Rogers (Tinkerbell, Noodler, Tigerlily, and
Jane Darling), who, in primarily non speaking roles, managed to steal the stage with her acting skills alone. When almost all the actors are playing at least two roles each, one would expect some confusion, but this group carried it off with the aplomb of a professional troupe.
This adaptation, by Ellie Heard, directed by Henry Bullitis, continued the tradition of having Mr Darling and Captain Hook played by the same actor, in this case Luke Saunders, underlining both the multiple roles of adulthood and the railing against thereof, but I would have been happier to see the roles differentiated slightly more, rather than being played in exactly the same costume. Saunders came alive as Hook, exploiting the swashbuckling cowardliness of the Captain in a more active and almost slapstick way. Lucas Binns, on stage nearly the entire time as Peter, showed good stage presence, and was a point of focus for the troupe.
Bullitis's and Heard's set design was excellent, subtly enhancing the 'childishness" of the action, bringing the element of childhood fantasy more into the thread of the play in a way I hadn't experienced before, and this was carried through with the puppetry/costume design of Nana, more than ably played by an actor with a name straight out of the turn of last century herself, Elizabeth Amelia Bastable, who also was Hook's sidekick, beloved of children everywhere, Mr Smee.
Reverb are lucky to have talented musicians in their band, with a soundtrack written by Jacob Whitelock, performed by himself , Jack De La Lande, Josh Belperio, and Henry Bullitis, which will be available for download from 23rd February from Whitelock's web site
All in all, despite a few technical hitches with sound, this was a most delightful presentation, which is a credit to all of the performers and crew involved.
Something to note, for patrons unfamiliar with the venue, is that the entrance is not easy to find, nor is parking space, depending on what other events the school is hosting at the same time, so allow plenty of time to get there comfortably.
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