REVIEW: The Adventures of Peter Pan

By Gary Murray, volunteer theatre reviewer

There’s something magical about a pantomime.

Go through the doors of the Devonshire Park or the Hippodrome theatres and you’re in a world of fun and laughter, colour and Christmas.

Many of the boys and girls in the audience who were brought by their mums and dads are now mums and dads themselves with their own kids. Gloriously, the tradition of panto is as much a part of Christmas in Eastbourne as mince pies and turkey dinner.

This year’s show at the Devonshire Park Theatre is Peter Pan, written and directed once again by Chris Jordan.

There was a buzz of anticipation before the curtain went up last night to a busy auditorium.

And we weren’t disappointed as there was an explosion of colour with the opening number Reach For The Stars led by Ella Bracci as Wendy.

Without giving too much away, Wendy is visited by Peter (Angus Benstead) and Tink (Gabriella Gilliat) and soon they are off to Neverland. The sequence where they all travel to Neverland is beautifully done.

Once in Neverland, they encounter adventure with the Lost Children and meet the villainous Captain Hook (Lewes Roberts).

But it all steps up a gear with the entrance of regulars Martyn Knight and Tucker as the Smees.

Tucker and Knight are a feature of the Eastbourne panto every year and as such they know exactly what’s needed. They are the beating comedy heart of everything both for the kids and the jokes they throw out for the adults! Indeed, there are some things which only parents will recall, for example a segment revolving around the 1970s children's TV show Rainbow.

There’s plenty of song and dance and terrible jokes.

A sample:

“I’m going to drown you in a bucket of Haribos.”

“You’re going to drown me in a bucket of Haribos?”

“Yes, it’s sweet revenge!”

It’s a good fun evening as it always is, but there are possibly some tweaks which could be made.

"An incredibly hard-working cast may make it look easy but it takes a colossal amount of work to be this good"

The pacing in the first half, perhaps half a beat off what it should be, will no doubt improve during the run.

I also think Hook needs to be a little scarier so the kids have a clear-cut villain to boo! He’s perhaps too much of the dandy at the moment. A more villianous Hook would give the sympathetic Smees part of his team, a little more to play off.

At the moment it can be a little confusing. JM Barrie might have written ambiguous characters in the original play, but panto requires clear-cut good versus evil!

One or two moments are also hurried a little. There’s not enough made of the scene where Peter is almost poisoned, and more space needs to be left for the audience to warn him. This would make the eventual outcome more poignant too.

But these are pretty minor carps.

There’s some great set-piece comedy by Tucker and Knight, particularly a sequence with puns on fish names, a version of the famous Abbott and Costello sketch Who’s on first?, substituting the names of Hook’s guards, and a hilarious scene with a recalcitrant boat.

The second half has much better momentum, really hitting its stride.

Should you go and see this?

Absolutely. An incredibly hard-working cast may make it look easy but it takes a colossal amount of work to be this good.

All the elements are there: comedy, song and dance by a team at the top of its game.

Eastbourne audiences are very proud of their pantos and they have every right to be. This is panto at its best – get your tickets if you haven’t already.

:: The panto runs until 11 January 2026. Tickets here

:: Gary Murray was a professional actor for 14 years in theatre, radio, TV and even a couple of operas. After many years on the tech side of the ticketing industry, he now works at Tech Resort and is a volunteer reviewer for Eastbourne Reporter