Harlow Playhouse is flying high after its family pantomime Peter Pan hooked theatregoers in record numbers.

A total of 17,529 tickets were purchased for the show, generating Box Office receipts of £246,166, smashing previous records.

Harlow Playhouse Manager Scott Ramsay said: “It’s great to have had yet another record breaking year. Since 2008 our panto audience has grown by 55%, despite the doom and gloom of the wider economy.

“We’ve worked with five partners this year – Enchanted Entertainment, Academy Arts, Jacqui Ison Theatre Arts, the Harvey Centre and Harlow College – and it proved to be a huge success. Once again, we saw a large number of new visitors to the Playhouse.”

Peter Pan Director Guy Pascall said: “I’ve been directing and producing pantomimes for 12 years and Peter Pan was probably the best one we’ve done, not only from the perspective of the quality of the show and the audience’s reaction to it, but also the financial success it enjoyed.

“Everything really clicked. I had a very good feeling about the show from the moment we started the rehearsals; the cast were fantastic and really gelled.”

Plans are now being put in place to ensure that next Christmas’s pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk will continue this trend. With a new Hollywood-backed blockbuster film about Jack the Giant Killer out in cinemas this summer, the Playhouse team will be looking to build on the profile of the Jack legend in an all-new live version.

Before Jack and the Beanstalk, the Playhouse and Enchanted Entertainment team up again at Easter with a new family musical production of Rapunzel from April 3-8.

“We’re really excited about doing Rapunzel,” said Guy. “The Disney film Tangled, which used the Rapunzel story has been massively successful so there’s a big audience out there who like the story.”

Tickets for Rapunzel are available from the Box Office on 01279 431945 or online at www.playhouseharlow.com

The Playhouse has done it again with a riotously entertaining and magical festive feast for the whole family.

This is the first time the theatre has gone with Peter Pan as a panto, so it was fascinating to see how the tale of the boy who never grew up was handled by the team behind last year’s Aladdin and 2009’s Cinderella.

An energetic old London town market routine featuring typically high production values segued nicely to the Darling’s nursery, where we meet Wendy (the excellent Amber Wallis), her two young brothers John and Michael – and Peter Pan.

It’s at this moment, when our hero whisks the Darlings off to Neverland where the show can easily disappoint. If the flying doesn’t convince it can spoil the remainder of the show, but here they got it spot on, capturing a real sense of wonder and enchantment.

While Wendy becomes a surrogate mother to the Lost Boys and Girls, elsewhere in Neverland the dastardly Captain Hook seeks his revenge on Peter for having chopped off his hand. But there’s a crocodile out there that’s had a taste of old Hookie’s digits and wants the rest.

Jacob Scipio (CBeebies’ Kerwhizzator) brought the right balance of child-like wonder and dashing heroism to the role of Peter, while the wonderful Chris Ellison (The Bill’s Burnside) delivered moustache-twirling old-school villainy to his cracking portrayal of Hook.

But it was Tom Swift’s performance as Hook’s right-hand man Smee that sent the show into overdrive.

That’s not to say the rest of the cast and not worthy of mention. Patrick Jacobs in particular was a camp-as-Christmas delight as Starkey, but it’s hard to compete with Swift when he’s firing on all cylinders.

Great costumes and sets, an imaginative lighting design, impressive dance routines courtesy of Academy Arts and Jacqui Ison Theatre Arts and songs made for another Playhouse panto to savour.

All children may grow up except one, but this enchanting version of Peter Pan is sure to bring the kid out in all of you.

Lauren Buckenham

Harlow Star, December 8, 2011

Marking its 40th anniversary Christmas, Guy Pascall’s rendition is surprisingly the first time the Playhouse has plumped for Peter Pan as its festive showcase.

Noticeably improving last year’s Aladdin set designs, you’re soon whisked away from Victorian London to enchanting Neverland, where the Lost Boys’ hideaway appears plucked straight from the wondrous imagination of a child.

Despite a rather sudden and meek demise at the hands of the hefty, imaginative crocodile, Chris Ellison’s scheming Captain Hook brings storybook qualities to life, as does his youthful nemesis, our hero, Jacob Scipio’s Peter Pan, whose magical flying sequences captivate throughout.

The Playhouse’s collaboration with Academy Arts and Jacqui Ison Theatre Arts is a winner, portraying the commanding gang ingredients essential for the Lost Boys. Alongside the likes of Amanda Dawson’s fantastic Tiger Lily and her Indian tribe, together they continuously perfect Kerry Blaskett’s vibrant choreography, with pulsating drum-led routines making for ferocious viewing.

From her soaring rendition of Wicked’s notorious Defying Gravity to the chilling Adele number Feel My Love, it’s soon evident why Amber Wallis secured her role via a ‘Search for Wendy’ open auditions process.

Akin to his jovial Wishee Washee 12 months ago, when the excellent Tom Swift’s Smee isn’t flirting with poor front-row victims, his impulsive facial expressions and chubby comedy capers bring the house down.

Catering for boys, girls and the children in all of us, like Pan himself, it’s a story that never grows old.

The Stage, December 15, 2011