Hook: The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan At Kings Theatre Portsmouth Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jan Dixon

I had the pleasure of reviewing the above Pantomime at the Kings Theatre, Southsea on the night of Monday 4th December 2023.  It runs until Sunday 31st December 2023, so there is plenty of opportunity to attend.  This was a self-produced Kings Theatre professional production written by Paul Woolf and Jack Edwards and the first time that Captain Hook has been portrayed as a protagonist.  The storyline shows an angry Captain Hook eventually finding a new way of life with Peter Pan and friends in Foreverland.  This gives the opportunity for pirates, ‘flying’ characters, comedy turns, ghosts, a crocodile, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to be cast members.  There is also a happy ending, which is always a satisfactory conclusion in a Pantomime!

As always with the annual Kings Theatre Pantomime, the cast members included celebrities, which this year were Shaun Williamson as Captain Hook and James ‘Arg’ Argent as Peter Pan.  They certainly seemed to relish their roles and really got into the whole pantomime vibe from the very start.  They both showcased their vocal talents to the appreciation of the audience, singing popular songs which the audience recognized and could sing along to.  References to their key shows, such as Eastenders and The Only Way is Essex helped them to gel with the audience especially.  This year Jack Edwards played Mrs Smee; once again acting his comic socks off to the delight of the audience.  His adlibbing was well honed and he certainly had everyone laughing and going along with his ribald innuendos with good humour.  Georgia Deloise as Wendy and Elizabeth Rose as Tinkerbell played their roles well and sang beautifully.  Further members of the cast were Julia Worsley as Mother/Mermaid; Abbie Warner as a Pirate/Mermaid and Jacob Bailey as Pirate Trev/Merman.  The latter three had key roles which they performed brilliantly; along with the other rest of the pirate cast members and junior ensemble.  At various points the cast members ran through the audience, singing and performing, which helped make everything so inclusive.

The band, consisting of Keys (Andrew Woodford); Guitar (Ashley Williams); Bass (Tim Marshall) and Drums/Percussion (Chris Buck) were excellent and were such an important part of the production.  Their professionalism in responding to unexpected changes in the script was exceptional.

All the standard pantomime factors were there – slapstick, responses to ‘good guys’ and ‘villains’, ghosts, 12 days of Christmas song with toilet roll throwing and water pistols aimed at the audience, dancing and singing at and with the audience.  As this was based on the Peter Pan story, there were ‘flying’ scenes which thrilled the younger members of the audience.  Excellent lighting, smoke effects and scene changes also enhanced the storyline.  I would thoroughly recommend this show and guarantee you will have a brilliant evening of entertainment.  Start and end the Christmas season off with a visit to a traditional Pantomime – there’s still time!

This is very much worth a 5 star rating.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets start from £10

https://www.kingsportsmouth.co.uk/whatson-event/hook-the-further-adventures-of-peter-pan-panto-2023/