Venue Cymru and Imagine Theatre have brought us Llandudno’s favourite panto dream team John Evans (Smee), James Lusted (Starkey) and Jason Marc Williams (Captain Hook) return this year in Swashbuckling sensation Peter Pan and will be joined by TV and Musical Theatre star Carley Stenson as the cheeky Tinker Bell from 09 – 31 December.
Wendy and her brothers meet Peter, a boy who never grows old. They are taken to Neverland, a magical island. The island is in danger and they must help Peter and the Lost Boys defeat Captain Hook and his notorious pirate crew.
Panto season is always something to look forward to and as usual, we kicked off this year with the press night with Peter Pan which is a panto that is probably one of the all-time favourite shows for many old and young.
John Evans brought his brilliant comedic side to the character of Smee with plenty of one-liners to have all ages laughing in their seats. It’s always great to see John in the Venue Cymru Pantomimes and he never fails at packing in the laughs.
Joining John again this year was James Lusted who took on the role of Starkey. Mich like John, James is always fun to watch on the stage at Venue Cymru and this year had me laughing loudly when he had to “walk the plank” on the stage.
Adding the villainy to the production is Jason Marc-Williams as Captain Hook. Jason also directed this year’s panto, so not only did he bring the boos to the show as Hook but he also brought us a wonderful production that was plenty of fun to watch.
Carley Stenson brought us a great Tinker Bell with plenty of great musical pieces and moments where she brought the magical character to life on the stage.
Georgia Conway who played Wendy was a joy to watch and the production of Peter Pan is her professional debut in her hometown for Imagine Theatre.
Jon Clayton brought the boy who never grows old to this year’s Panto, as he played the title character of Peter Pan. Wonderful to watch and to see fly across the stage.
The set design for Peter Pan at Venue Cymru certainly looks magical, with its wonderful colours and the way that some of the sets changed. The moment that Peter, Wendy, John and Michael take to the skies the set changes as if they are flying from the children’s bedroom and off to Neverland.
Look out for The Ship’s Kitchen scene which took me by surprise, the scene featuring the Kitchen with some nicely done slapstick and a rat certainly made me feel like I was on a real ship and yes it did make me feel a little queezy!
The overall production of this year’s panto was a joy to watch, although there did seem some teething problems with the sound from the mics dropping slightly in some scenes, being almost at the front of the stage helped me hear what was being said.
My advice is to go and check out Peter Pan at Venue Cymru, it’s on until Sunday 31 December 2023. It’s a great day/evening out for all the family. Tickets for the show are available from the Venue Cymru website at venuecymru.co.uk or via the Box Office on 01492 872000.
We're off to Neverland
Event Title: Peter Pan at Venue Cymru
Event Description: Panto season is back and this year's panto at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, is the wonderful Peter Pan
Start date: December 9, 2023
End date: December 31, 2023
Location name: Venue Cymru
Address: Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB
Summary
A magical and fun night out for all the family.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
