Words by Melissa Blease | Production images by Stewart McPherson
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which to many of us means only one thing: if the teenager in your life doesn’t get the new iPhone 17 Pro in their Christmas stocking, you’re gonna be doomed on Snapchat.
But back in the days before TikTok, selfies and FOMO dominated family life, the annual panto was where magic really happened. But it ain’t over ‘til it’s over… and The Further Adventures of Peter Pan gives the genre a subtly contemporary update without (thankfully!) kicking one of the jolliest Great British Traditions to the kerb.
Emily Darling is the great great granddaughter of Wendy Darling, aka magical, mischievous adult refusenik Peter Pan’s courageous cohort. While Emily thinks she knows a bit about all the ‘stuff’ her great great grandmother got up to in her youth, she ain’t seen nothing yet — and, when fabulous, flame-haired fairy Tinker Bell roller skates into her social media-dominated tilt shift, her world suddenly tilts closer to real (well, sorta real) adventure than anything she’s ever witnessed on Instagram.
It’s Christmas 2025 and Neverland — a place described by original Peter Pan author JM Barrie as “a place only found in the minds of children” — is in turmoil yet again. Villainous pirate Captain Hook didn’t, as we were led to believe, walk the plank and disappear for good; he’s still causing havoc in the strange nation state caught between childhood and adulthood, caging baby fairies (the Baby Bells, of course!), bullying formerly-friendly pirates into submission and generally usurping the guileless Captain Smee’s joyfully playful domain for his own, iniquitous benefits. Oh no he isn’t? Oh yes he is! Can Tinker Bell, Peter Pan and the ‘new’ Wendy divide, conquer and put it all
behind them once again?
In bringing an enduringly popular semi-metaphysical tale that explores themes involving the enchantment of childhood, the purpose of imagination and what it means to grow up back to life for a whole new generation, illustrious Theatre Royal Bath panto supremo Jon Monie has raised the bar and exceeded long-established expectations of a long-standing that customarily marks the start of the Christmas season.
As well as writing the script, Monie stars as the giddily jovial Captain Smee, effortlessly connecting with the audience in a way that only Monie can do from the get-go and proving once again that he’s the undisputed master of the art of comedy timing. As Tinker Bell, Holly Atterton works in perfect tandem with Marcus J Foreman’s Peter Pan, the pair bringing sweetness, sparkle and spirit in spades. Bobbie Chambers’ Emily has all the full-on attitude traits that makes teens go TikTok down to a tee, Sarah Jane Buckley does an outstanding job of doubling-up as both the pragmatic Mrs Darling (Emily’s mum) and the super-glamorous Ethel Mermaid (get those soaring vocals!), and agile acrobatic trio The Nitwits raise live feats of derring-do to spectacular heights.
As for Captain Hook: oh, bring on the bad boy! One-part Adam Ant, one-part delicious dandy and all-parts properly good baddie, Tristan Gemmill elicits both swoon and seethe in equal measure while rockin’ the frock coat, owning the curly wig and setting a new trend for velvet pantaloons.
Along the way, there’s singalongs and songs galore (including Captain Hook’s cover version of Judas Priest’s Breaking the Law — now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write), beautifully-choreographed dance routines (where would Theatre Royal Bath panto be without the the Dorothy Colbourne School of Dance superstars in-the-making?), plenty of high-flying Wow! moments, a dancing crocodile and, of course, all the “oh no it isn’t/oh yes it is/behind you!” refrains that can all and only be rolled out at this time of the year.
Fresh, fast and funny, uplifting and emotive, sparkly and spellbinding: The Further Adventures of Peter Pan is festive season fabulosity at its outstanding best — oh yes, it very much is.
The Further Adventures of Peter Pan is at Theatre Royal Bath until 11 January. Tickets here.
Read more features on theatre in Bath here
