![]() He teams up well with the other principals in the traditional pantomime business of the cross-stage tongue twister, here joyously reimagined as “the poisonous pythons in the hissing pit”, the ‘Twelve days of Christmas’ also updated for sea faring props including five rubber rings and the Pirate Drill. When Hook gets eaten by the pit croc at the end of Act One, you fear he might not return in the second half but thankfully he does to reveal himself as Hercule Hook, the brother and then transforming himself into Hercule Poirot in front of our eyes. Gleefully evil, he sends himself up in the business, wholeheartedly throwing himself into the fights and comedy. From his first appearance when he is wheeled on stage on a pirate throne, he is everything you expect from the character in pantomime. ![]() ![]() At least in this year’s Bristol Hippodrome show, they take the trouble to tailor the comic business to fit the story, even tangentially, and the result is a much more satisfying canter through the tale with some excellent comic breaks.Īt the centre, of course, remains Captain Hook played by Sir David Suchet, the award-winning actor in his pantomime debut. As a result, the narrative has been stripped back rushing to Neverland in breakneck speed, cutting the story back with Hook meeting his end at end of Act One. Since then, the writing has become more formulaic in a determined effort to reduce the running time to two hours, still leaving time for all the stars’ pantomime business. Peter Pan is now well established as a panto title and the gold standard was set by the 2018 production at the Birmingham Hippodrome, led initially by the wonderful Jimmy Osmond, and at the Richmond Theatre production with the masterful Robert Lindsay as Hook.
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