Review

Leeds First Direct Arena

This was the first time I had been to the new Leeds First Direct Arena and I have to say what a tremendous area there is here for performers. Probably twice the width and depth of any other theatrical venue in Leeds or Bradford. And the arena lent itself superbly to this big brash production.

The show, however, differed greatly from any previous productions of Peter Pan I have seen in the past. For a start, there was no libretto whatsoever from any of the actors ; everything was narrated by Tinkerbell, the fairy in the story, played by Stacey Solomon. Secondly Captain Hook sang opera, Rossini’s Largo Al Factotum and Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, plus an amended version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Modern Major General. The rest of my family were just as perplexed by this as I was. And finally, one of my pet hates, the music (all of it backing tracks) was too loud on some occasions for the performers, particularly Sandor Stürbl in the role of Peter.

Having got these brickbats out of the way, let’s look at the positives. Firstly, there are some superb technical effects from the creative team headed by Geert Allaert. As well as Peter, Wendy, John and Michael flying using wires, Peter also flies with the use of a wind machine which propels him over 50 feet into the air, something never seen before on stage in the UK. Also chandeliers fly around the stage, plus birds in the lagoon scene.

Secondly there is a huge video wall at the rear of the stage which creates an ever-changing backdrop for the show devised by Michel Soucy, which adds greatly to the production.

Thirdly, there is massive movement around the stage area with some amazing gymnastic movements by the male performers as the pirates and lost boys. And finally the music is all well-known songs including Our House, Angels, Sailing, Kiss From A Rose, You Raise Me Up and Dreamer. Lilly Jane Young sang very well as Wendy, as did Sandor Stürbl as Peter, although as mentioned earlier his volume should have been increased or the backing music lowered by the sound engineers. The best vocal performance came from Stacey Solomon as Tinkerbell, with her rendition of You Raise Me Up, the highlight of the night. There were other good performances from Juan Gerlo and Sara De Smedt as Mr and Mrs Darling, plus Gerardo Tetilla as John and Davide Romeo as Michael.

I left not quite knowing what to have made of this production. There were some great highs with the video screens and special effects, but the production was sadly marred by the lack of dialogue, loudness of the backing tracks on some numbers and the distinct lack of timing by Wim Van Den Driesche as Captain Hook in his operatic numbers. And I am still puzzled as to why these were included in the first place!

John Burland