THEATRE REVIEW - Peter Pan Goes Wrong

The more dreadful the off-key tunes the late lamented Les thumped out of his instrument, the more audiences loved it.

Well, Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a magnificently crafted show, and as the actors play out the favourite old story, the more chaos rules the stage the more the audience, and especially the kids, screamed with laughter.

Everything that can go wrong does. And with every hilarious catastrophe, the needle on the laughometer is overworked to breaking point.

How brilliant of the Lowry to cotton on to this great piece of drama which is, for me, described in one word ... unique.

I’ve never seen anything like it in four decades of reviewing shows and there’s little doubt that to “do it all wrong” takes far more effort, organisation and sheer professionalism than to actually do it right.

I enjoyed every second of Kenny Wax’s show. He has taken a much love story and turned it upside down. It’s a total triumph.

We see the cast of the dramatic society heading for the show – and once it begins, there’s a fat and furious catalogue of mistakes and madness.

The cast work like Trojans to bring this wonderfully unusual show to quirky life. And yes, they fly – but chaotically.

Doors stick. Beds collapse. One actress plays the maid and lady of the house at one and the same time. The dog gets stuck in the door. The revolving three-sectioned stage ends up revolving too fast, throwing the players off stage. And so the fun and top-class silliness goes on and on. It’s dizzying delightful.

I liked this show so much, I’m determined to see it again before it finishes its Lowry run on January 11.