It is fashionable at the moment to redo old stories, and Rebecca Glover from the Playhouse Theatre has put quite a twist on the classic Peter Pan tale.
Peter Pan Uncensored is rated R13 as Wendy runs away to live a life of freedom with bad boy Peter. He takes her and her younger brothers on a journey through a broken down fairground, a pirate bar, gets her brothers kidnapped by a motorcycle gang and introduces her to the joys of dumpster diving and sleeping on the ground.
While this is a coming of age story about Wendy, it is her younger brothers who steal the show. Nick Tipa and Zac Nicholls, who makes a very hirsute 12-year-old, bring a fantastic amount of energy and comedy to the stage. Nicholls is so enthusiastic he attempts to eat his own hand with excitement.
Another highlight is Dylan Shield, who shows off his legs as Tinkerbell. In this version of Peter Pan she is the sparkly green fairy, the living embodiment of the absinthe bottle who tries to protect the boys through her unorthodox social work.
Isabelle Jenkins made a strong connection with the audience as they relived through her every annoying drunk person they have ever tried to coax out of a bar and safely home.
The biggest laughs of the night went to James Caley as a very sincere Captain Hook. His entrance for his big reveal and his attempt at medical assistance for Tinkerbell had the audience in stitches.
This is a funny play with a lot of local pop culture ruthlessly ridiculed. More of the humour in the script could be brought out with some attention to the pacing of the play.
Peter Pan Uncensored is rooted strongly in the Playhouse formula. This includes songs, dance routines and original music written by Dylan Shield and Gretel Newman-Sugrue. If you would like to see an old favourite by your old favourites at the Playhouse, see Peter Pan Uncensored before the season ends on Saturday.
-By Kimberly Buchan
