National Theatre goes Neverland
Those who suggested the National Theatre of Scotland wasn't fulfilling the Scottish part of its title might be silenced by their latest production.
Not only is their new version of Peter Pan by one of Scotland's best loved writers (whose 150th anniversary will be marked in just over a week's time) but it's been given a distinctly Scottish setting by a modern day Scots writer.
David Greig envisages the Darlings' house in the shadow of the part-built Forth Bridge - Mr Darling himself is overseeing the project - and it's from that iconic steel frame that Peter pan first flies down.
When I say fly, it's more a case of leaps and bounds with the young performers creeping, climbing and clambering round the stage.
The staging not only sets up nicely the notion of being on the cusp of two centuries, and on worlds changing, but is physically stunning.
When the Forth Bridge spins around to become pirate ships on the high seas, it's almost like a moody Turner seascape.
The stagecraft is excellent too. In particular Tinkerbell, a pulsating fireball who makes even the most cynical adult believe.
And the final scenes where children emerge from apparently empty beds is worthy of any magic show.
The soundtrack is probably the strongest element of the show - composed by Davey Anderson , who previously collaborated with director John Tiffany on Black Watch.
It's a clever mixture of haunting lullabies and rousing sea shanties, played live in the thick of the action.
But is that enough to justify the retelling of an old tale told so many times before?
And does it say anything not already said in the countless plays, books, films, prequels, sequels and animations.
True, it brings the adult themes of death and betrayal very much to the fore.
This is a play about childhood, but not necessarily one for children (and not for the tinies who may find the show just a little too dark and unsettling).
Which does leave you wondering just who exactly the show is aimed at?
Not London’s South Bank, but the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow - every bit as lively in cultural terms as its namesake. I’m Pauline McLean, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland’s arts correspondent, and I’ll be blogging here about arts events and issues happening across the country.
Comment number 1.
At 28th Apr 2010, Alison Bond wrote:I travelled up to Glasgow on Monday to watch this and was extremely looking forward to it, with NTS being one of my favorites and one of the few theatre companies I will travel for especially to watch, I unfortunatley couldn't help feeling disappointed with this one.
I agree that the soundtrack is indeed the strongest element of the show, I did think the music and on-stage songs where fantastic, I really loved that! The music was powerful, thoughtful and the songs where excellent, 5 out of 5 for that part!
The set too was great, I loved the bridge and how it changed into the ship etc and all the different parts of the set, that was really well done, very high quality and well thought of, 4 out of 5 for that!
The cast where all good, a large cast all worked well together. However although there were no weak links, nobody stood out either, nice performances, but nothing wonderful, I did expect certain characters and actors to stand out and they didn't. 3 out of 5!
I too left wondering who the show was aimed at, not really children, especially very young ones... but not adults either. The play lost momentum too many times in places and seemed to drag in parts, especially the second half and I wondered where exactly we were heading to alot, what were we trying to get to, in a stange sort of way, but never seemed to make it. For those reasons the actual play is a 2 out of 5 for me.
I left with very mixed feelings of hearing some wonderful music and songs, a great set, but only average performances and a play that didn't satisfy or leave me with anything special to think about, which without the whole package, ultimately was the feeling of disappointment from a production I had high expectations of. Based on my scores, on the whole production, 3 out of 5 for Peter Pan!
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Comment number 2.
At 30th Apr 2010, David Bell wrote:Well, I went to see this production last night with reasonably low expectations. Having heard and seen the Peter Pan story so many times before I wondered what they could do to make this new or different.
I was blown away! The music was excellent and tied very will with the director's attempt to bring this story back home to its Scottish roots. The set, which appeared originally to be fairly basic, proved itself to be simple yet clever.
The story was pretty much as expected and I would agree that there was no obvious "Star" within the cast, but I don't think this was a problem and I think they all worked together as a cast.
The "flying" whilst simple was very well choreographed, and from the angle I was sitting you could also see the supporting aerial artists who were ensuring the action was smooth and safe. Some may have felt that spoiled it, but I thought it added to the "fairytale" story.
The most magnificent element was Tinkerbell. I am an avid theatre goer and know many of the tricks, but I am left still wondering "How did they do that?". The ball of flame was controlled with great accuracy as it flew through the stage and areas of the auditorium, as it landed on fabrics and cast, and as the intensity of the flame varied to suit Tink's mood. Absolutely fabulous, and I'd pay the money to see that alone.
A big fan! Well done to all involved.
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Comment number 3.
At 1st May 2010, Caroline OConnor wrote:I took my 5 year old to see this last Saturday and she loved it! As did I.
Our only experience of Peter Pan is the Disney DVD. So I was a bit worried my 5 year old would spend the whole time saying that doesn't happen in the DVD. But she was mesmerised. She loved the way the actors flew across the stage. She was fascinated by Tinkerbell. I want to know how they did it.
The music was lovely. It has a ancient Scottish sound to it. It was nice to see the Scottish element of the play.
We both really enjoyed the play.
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