Peter Pan at the Alhambra Theatre Bradford Review
Peter Pan
Alhambra, Bradford
17 December to 29 January 2017
Reviewed by Tracey Stoker
“Amazing, fantastic, brilliant” these were just some of the words our son used to describe his first ever pantomime. We wanted it to be a memorable experience and it really was.
We had never been to the Bradford Alhambra before but it had come highly recommended by friends who said the pantomime’s there are legendary mostly due to the man himself ‘Billy Pearce’.
Getting to the Alhambra wasn’t difficult, it’s very well signposted and easy to spot. We decided to use one of the carparks the Alhambra recommend. This was just a few minutes walk away from the venue and if you ask at the kiosk inside the Alhambra, they will give you a ticket to discount your parking fees. This is well worth doing as it halved our car parking fees.
The Alhambra itself is absolutely beautiful. The whole of the outside was lit up with thousands of fairy lights. It looked magical. Our son was in awe of it. And just added to his excitement.
Inside, all the staff were very helpful and friendly. They asked our son what seat number he had and showed him where to go and where to get his 3D glasses. Our son has additional needs and finds it difficult in crowds so having friendly staff that interacted with him made a huge difference to our night.
Once seated, we were just waiting for the pantomime to start. Down went the lights, on came the music and off we went to Neverland. And then, across the stage flew Peter Pan looking for Tinkerbell. It was amazing and it just got better and better. Darren Day was excellent as Captain Hook, our son loved booing him!!! He interacted with the audience throughout the whole panto “Oh no he didn’t. Oh yes he did!! “. Our son was up off his chair shouting at him! Charlie Hardwick gave a great performance as “Mimi” the magical mermaid. She really is a fantastic singer. Loved the duet between her and Captain Hook. Jon Lee as Peter Pan was incredible with his flying skills and our son loved the sword fighting scenes.
All the cast were great but for us, the night belonged to the legend that is Billy Pearce. He had us in stitches with his jokes and innuendos. Our son knew he was “Smee” as soon as he came on stage. He made the whole panto flow smoothly. And had us laughing all the way though. The 12 Days of Christmas at the end of the pantomime had us crying with laughter one minute and the next minute jumping out of our seats in fright when “Smee” blew up the light!! We weren’t expecting that.
The whole performance was full of surprises but none more than the 3D experience. I must admit, even I jumped when the shark came out and our son screamed along with most of the audience. One of the best 3D effects I’ve ever seen.
And to finish off a magical night, as we were leaving the building our son shouted “it’s snowing”. We looked up and it was! The Alhambra had artificial snow falling from its roof. Our son loved standing underneath it. He said it felt like ‘Christmas’.
If you are looking for a brilliant family outing, I can’t recommend this pantomime enough. Great value for money and you won’t be disappointed. We will definitely be booking for next year.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £15.50 to £39 (booking fees may apply).
Peter Pan is at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford until 29 Janaury 2017. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01274 432000.
Alhambra Theatre, Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ | 01274 432000
