Review of the RSC's Peter and Wendy
Playwright Ella Hickson's adaptation of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan is much closer to the novel than the pantomimes, Hook starring Robin Williams and the other Hollywood/Disney films that have preceded it. There must have been many people in the audience who have never read the novel and whose sole experience of the story is from the Disney film - like partner Tom - as such they would have been surprised by the restoration of the focus on to the novel's key themes of death and the death of childhood. Whilst this might have been a surprise, it would have been a very pleasant one! It is a fantastic production with a truly modern take on the classic children's story. It's also far more obviously feminist than the recent National Theatre production of Jane Eyre that I reviewed in my last blog.
The, I hesitate to say, feminist approach to this production meant that the Darling's mother became a suffragette in response to the death of one of her sons and Wendy (Mariah Gale) loudly proclaimed the injustice of her being forced to grow up before her brothers. She loudly voiced how unfair it was that she was being encouraged into the stereotypical role of helpmeet and maternal guide from a very young age whilst her brothers carry on careering around playing soldiers. The reason that I hesitated to say 'feminist' was because really the play dances around the subject at times, however it does make concerted efforts to show the pressure of the conservative image of feminist on girls and women alike. The Darling's suffragette mother (Rebecca Johnson), for instance, discovered the political movement when she was grieving the death of her child as she found the inane chatter of polite ladies' society too much to bear afterwards.
The performances of the central cast are also remarkable. Peter Pan was played by a commendable actor, Rhys Rusbatch, whom I hope to see treading the boards of the RSC stage again soon. Hook (Darrell D'Silva) and Smee (Paul Kemp), it is suggested at times, have an hilarious homoerotic love affair! Tink is played as a feisty, voluptuous Brummie by Charlotte Mills adding moments of pathos and comedy throughout the performance.
And the set ... Oh, the set... This is truly the masterpiece designs that make the RSC remarkable. Colin Richmond has really outdone himself with this visual, technological treat. I was at all times left speechless by the abilities of this set!
I'm sad to see this production come to an end, but it is high praise to the RSC that the original production of Peter Pan in the Autumn/Winter 2013/14 period was so popular that it called for this second production this season. As such, it will be a long time before another adaptation of Barrie's beautiful, thought-provoking, coming of age story next appears in the theatre. However, it would be great to see another classic children's story adapted for the RSC for the Autumn/Winter season this year or in 2017, who knows maybe we'll see a feminist Jungle Book maybe or Alice in Wonderland.
