Peter Pan Northern Ballet Theatre HK Cultural Centre Grand Theatre Reviewed: Jul 9
Since its debut in Britain six years ago, the Northern Ballet Theatre's Peter Pan, an adaptation of J.M. Barrie's story, has remained one of its most popular productions.
Created by the troupe's artistic director, David Nixon, the two-act ballet breathes life to this fairy tale through a combination of expressive choreography, an animated score by Stephen Warbeck, puppetry and some convincing flying sequences. Friday's show, which opened the International Arts Carnival, was fun, fast-paced and magical.
The action begins from the word go, when Peter Pan (David Ward) is seen fighting his own shadow as Mrs Darling (Hannah Bateman) enters her children's bedroom. The mischievous adventurer escapes through the window, leaving his shadow (Ashley Dixon) behind in hiding. Later that night, after Mrs Darling and her husband (Kenneth Tindall) put their children - Wendy (Pippa Moore), John (Sebastian Loe) and Michael (Thomas Aragones) - to bed, Peter Pan returns with fairy Tinkerbell (Micheala Paolacci) to look for his shadow, and soon makes friends with the children, whom he takes to Neverland.
Nixon has been criticised for taking too literal an approach to Barrie's story, but for a younger audience this version works well. The narrative is clear but leaves plenty to the imagination.
Ward is a strong dancer and performed impressively both on the ground and in the air. Paolacci was excellent as Tinkerbell who, like her fairy dust, sparkled in every scene she was in, while Tindall's dashing yet goofy Captain Hook also impressed.