Review by Malcolm Calder
Peter Pan
By Carl Bland
Adapted from the story by J M Barrie
An Auckland Theatre Company and Nightsong production
Directors, Ben Crowder and Carl Bland
Set, John Verryt
Lighting Sean Lynch
Costumes Elizabeth Whiting
Composer and Music Claire Cowan
Sound Max Scott
Choreography Dayna Pomare Pai
With Andrew Grainger, Jungwhi Jo, Tupe Lualua, Jennifer Ludlam, Anika Moa, Nova Moala-Knox, Lotima Nicholas Pome’e, Theo Shakes, Angus Stevens, Tess Sullivan, the Nightsong Youth Company and Roux the dog.
ASB Waterfront Theatre
Until 27 October
Review by Malcolm Calder
Whether as Captain Hook or the understated Mr Darling, Jennifer Ludlum commands the eyes, the ears and the senses every time she takes to the stage in this rather unique production. Striding around guiding, leading and even cueing other actors, she is totally in command. Her pedigree and experience is clear in her every nuanced action and clearly demonstrates why she is one of this country’s finest character actors.
However it seems she is not supported by any kind of control structure at all in this Peter Pan and that is a great pity.
Nightsong has developed a fine reputation over the years and its I Want To Be Happy remains one of my 2023 standouts. But this collaboration under the Auckland Theatre Company umbrella has confused me. It would be easy to dismiss it as a rather ginormous mishmash with no one in control. That is possibly true to a degree but there are clues as to what it is trying to do.
Writer Carl Bland pays homage to Barrie’s 1920s original. This is not a hi-tech show and he has kept it old-fashioned in many ways. However his work as a director is where things go a little awry – a good reason why writers who direct their own work sometimes incline towards the over-indulgent. Bland has tinkered with Barrie’s original and thrown in many asides, one-liners and loads of whimsy. Many of them work while others are wasted and become mere throwaways.
It is a bit like all those things got put in a bucket and then someone threw them at the stage. As a result things just sort of ‘happen’ in this Peter Pan rather than become magically ‘revealed’ after characters evolve, situations develop their own dynamic energy and tension has been drawn tighter and tighter.
Perhaps these things may have evolved after another week or two of rehearsal, but inter-character dynamics were all but absent and few did little more than appear onstage and utter their lines.
Some did their best. Theo Shakes developed a certain presence as Pan, especially in Act 2, Lotima Nicholas Pome’e sang with beauty towards the end of Act 1 and Andrew Grainger blustered about a lot.
Perhaps the whole thing could be summed up by the inclusion of Anika Moa. Apart from providing some, admittedly nuanced, contributions to the accompanying soundscape I have no idea why she was included. Her Mermaid Queen simply occupied a space, may have added an occasional vocal harmony and tickled a few percussion instruments. Poor Anika wound up a distracting sideshow. I felt sorry for her.
John Verryt’s set looked like it might possibly have been relocated from Barrie’s era, a beautifully-crafted wolf suit seemed to cover Tess Sullivan’s mic so we could barely hear her words, low-tech flying is a bit yawn-inducing these days and the whole thing looked under-rehearsed –at a production level too. Even the intelligently-included ATC Youth Company, making up numbers as pirates and Lost Boys, occasionally looked a little lost themselves.
Through all of this the missing element was command. One could almost sense Ludlum willing others in the cast to react, respond and become personalities matching the energy, effort and detail she put into her work – but this production allowed them to do so only rarely. As her Captain Hook met his demise I’ll swear I could hear her sigh of relief as the crocodile finally clamped its jaws around her and carted her off to who knows where.
And, while conceding that Barrie’s original has a dark side and may provide a few giggles for children I’m inclined to believe its moral about transitioning from childhood is somehow lost in translation for children anyway. On leaving the theatre I overheard a 10-year-old son respond to his father’s question about what he thought of the show. His response ‘too long but I liked the dog’ was his summation.
So, thank you ATC for your policy of diversifying your product range in 2023. However this Peter Pan raises other questions too. Not least its timing – one wonders why a show specifically targeting children and families should open at the very end of the school holidays. There have been many successes this year and I am sure this little blip does not negate the others.
But, finally, congratulations to Jennifer Ludlum for two finely-crafted characters. They commanded the stage.
To subscribe or follow New Zealand Arts Review site – www.nzartsreview.org.
The “Follow button” at the bottom right will appear and clicking on that button will allow you to follow that blog and all future posts will arrive on your email.
Or go to https://nzartsreview.org/blog/, Scroll down and click “Subscribe”
New Zealand Arts Review 
One reply on “Peter Pan: Loads of Command but little Control”
This review seems to miss some essential qualities that made Peter Pan such a unique and evolving experience. While it correctly highlights Jennifer Ludlum’s skill and stage presence, it unfairly isolates her performance as the sole cohesive element of the show, ignoring the broader cast’s growth and the complex direction that has, in fact, unified this production.
Firstly, the review overlooks the dynamic interpretation brought by the young cast, who transform over the course of the show into captivating characters brimming with life, energy, and nuance. Dismissing their performances as mere “line reading” doesn’t acknowledge the significant improvement witnessed by audiences after the first week. Critiquing a theater production solely based on initial performances misses the essence of theater’s evolving nature—each performance a progression. In Peter Pan, the young cast members Theo Shakes and Lotima Nicolas Pome’e, among others, have shown impressive development in their roles, bringing fresh interpretations that have breathed life into the story.
Secondly, this critique of Bland’s direction as “overindulgent” seems to disregard the director’s intentional nods to J.M. Barrie’s original storytelling style. Bland’s work in this production isn’t a “mishmash” but rather an attempt to invoke the playful and whimsical spirit of Peter Pan, a choice that might indeed lean towards Barrie’s nostalgic complexity. His “whimsical” touches, labeled here as “throwaways,” actually serve to reinterpret a classic tale for a modern audience without losing its historical essence.
The criticism directed at Anika Moa’s role as the Mermaid Queen is similarly shortsighted. Moa’s subtle musical contributions created an atmospheric soundscape that added depth and emotion, even if her presence was understated. Her harmonies and movements were intended to enhance the scene, not to distract or to overshadow, adding a haunting, whimsical layer that enhanced the production’s mood.
Lastly, the critic’s remarks on the low-tech flying and Barrie-era set design completely miss the mark. This wasn’t an oversight; it was an intentional design choice to align with the original feel of Peter Pan and allow the audience to focus on the characters and themes rather than dazzling effects. Nightsong’s style often prioritizes inventive storytelling over high-tech spectacle, creating an intimate connection with the audience, something that many attendees appreciated.
While the review applauds Ludlum, it neglects the collaborative success of the production and fails to recognize the intentional choices that made this Peter Pan memorable. Instead of rigidly evaluating based on first impressions, it’s important for critics to acknowledge theater’s unique ability to adapt and improve through its run, capturing a story’s essence through growth, innovation, and the performers’ development. In short, this Peter Pan offers a layered, evolving theatrical experience that deserves a broader perspective.
LikeLike