Peter Pan Goes Wrong – Leeds Grand

HOLLYWOOD knows what to do when a film becomes a runaway success: make a sequel that’s bigger in every way.

Mischief Theatre have taken a leaf out of the movie-makers’ book following the rapturous reception to their first hilarious production The Play That Goes Wrong.

In that show, which toured nationally, a period drama went spectacularly haywire with collapsing sets, malfunctioning effects, chaotic actors and a psychotic stagehand.

Mischief have certainly spent more money on this one, with a bigger, a revolving set and – this being an adaptation of children’s classic Peter Pan – flying.

I assume Mischief also invested in a bigger first aid kit, possibly even an ambulance, as the real-life actors take heart-stopping physical risks.

The performers in the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society certainly need paramedics, as they frequently trip, plummet, come to blows, and collide with scenery both on the floor and in the air.

Peter and Wendy are real-life lovers but the guy playing the crocodile is in love with Wendy, John Darling has an earpiece to remind him of his lines but keeps picking up taxi broadcasts, and due to illness little Michael has to be played by a bearded pensioner.

This play is as hilarious as last year’s original without seeming like a rehash, a cleverly-conceived and brilliantly-performed send-up that gets funnier and funnier as it goes on.

There were lots of children in the audience, and I’ll bet some parents looked tickets because they assumed Peter Pan Goes Wrong, would be a typical family show.

While some of the youngest children looked baffled at the on-stage antics, many laughed as much as the rest of us – and the mix of ages helped get the audience in the mood to cheer and heckle in true panto style.

• Grand Theatre, Leeds, until Saturday. Visit leedsgrandtheatre.co.uk or call 0844 8482700 to book tickets.

David Knights