It feels remiss of me to be writing this so late after the event, but I wanted to acknowledge it anyway seeing as it was my final in person show of this year, before my hometown and the theatre’s locale moved back into Tier 3 restrictions in light of the pandemic that very same evening, which unfortunately cut its theatrical run short. You see, just for a blissful hour the afternoon prior to Christmas eve, I was transported to Neverland, by way of The Barn Theatre in Cirencester!

The beloved tale of Peter Pan by J.M Barrie about the boy who will never grow up is joyfully reimagined by Allan Pollock as a father, across the country on business and holed up in a hotel is begged by his daughter (a charming voiceover by Georgia Dibbs) for her favourite bedtime story. There’s everything you’ve come to know and love, but it also packed an unexpected emotional punch that surprised and moved me deeply as we learn the reason behind the father & daughter’s connection and love for this story.

Being my first (and well overdue!) trip to this theatre, what struck me immediately was the intimacy of the space and how cleverly this lended itself to this version of the story: Gregor Donnelly’s playful and imaginative set design transports us to Neverland with simplicity and ingenuity that never failed to put a smile on my face: beds became pirate ships, teddies the Darling brothers, an umbrella became that infamous hook, and so on. Couple that with Joe Price’s atmospheric LX design and some incredible projections from Benjamin Collins that encompass pirates, Amazons and even a crocodile – the whole production feels slick and brimming with imagination and a love for the creative process, which as an audience member I always love to see: I like being encoraged to use my imagination at times instead of always having everything laid out for me.

Billed as a “one man” version of the story, Waylon Jacobs stars and is a delight from start to end – as a fan of his from his musical theatre work (forever my Gator in Memphis, followed by first King George and then beloved Aaron Burr in Hamilton!) I loved the chance to see him tackle a play, the energy and physicality he brought to each character was a real joy; at just shy of an hour long Kirk Jameson’s production clips along nicely and I really delighted in watching Waylon’s performance grow and change as the father became more invested in the story – it became something bigger than a bedtime story and that emotional dynamic meant I was always engaged. Movement direction from Tosh Wanogho-Maud added another striking layer to Waylon’s energy, and Nick Barstow’s score brings the two worlds: real and imaginary into even sharper focus.

Peter Pan was my first experience of a Barn production, and the endearing feeling was that I hope that 2021 will bring me even more, whatever form that takes: their creativity excited me immensely and reminded me that sometimes the most intimate productions have the biggest heart and soul!

Peter Pan is available to stream until Jan 3rd