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Peter Pan on Dinosaur Island Reader's Review
Peter Pan on Dinosaur Island
Peter Pan on Dinosaur Island is great fun and the sell-out audience of families loved it. From the minute the audience file into the theatre it is clear we are in for a lively, entertaining experience: the sense of excitement is aided by the swirling dry ice and the low lights. The three actors keep up an energetic pace, there is lots of action and regular costume changes allow them to play different characters. Much excitement greeted the first sight of a dinosaur as an impressive T-Rex crossed the stage, complete with glowing red eyes and fearsome roaring soundtrack.
Peter Pan on Dinosaur Island tells the story of what happened when Captain Hook reversed time using the time clock in the crocodile's tummy, taking everyone on Neverland back to the time of the dinosaurs. As well as the characters you would expect: Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Smee; new characters are introduced such as Chloe, Wendy's grand daughter; and Stinkerbell, Tinkerbell's half human grandson, who just happens to be the Poo Fairy.
The action never stops, with almost constant audience participation, which is very smoothly handled. Plenty of children get a chance to go up on stage to help with various tasks, and there are also lots of opportunities for the audience as a whole to join in. Highlights for my two were throwing dinosaur poo at Captain Hook and joining in the sword training, with foam swords handed to every member of the audience.
The dinosaurs are fantastic, the costumes are really effective and the use of the Jurassic Park music added to the excitement. In amongst all the drama the cast manages to add in a fair few facts about dinosaurs, which my dinosaur-loving two greatly enjoyed. My 7 year old in particular was also highly entertained by the various poo references, from Stinkerbell hiding in a gigantic dinosaur poo to his job identifying 'species through its faeces' this was an ongoing joke.
By the end of the show Captain Hook has, naturally, been vanquished; London and the dinosaur babies saved; and Peter Pan, Chloe and Stinkerbell make it back through time just as the meteor lands, with a satisfyingly loud bang and very bright flash.
My daughter, who is 7, said 'I liked it. I liked how it was two movies mixed together. I enjoyed how there were new people in it as well as the ones I already know about, like Stinkerbell and Chloe. I think my friends would like it, they would like throwing the poo and the swords'. My 11 year old son thought 'The dinosaur costumes were very good and the silhouette effect was incredible. I really liked how they combined Peter Pan and dinosaurs to make a new story. There was lots of audience participation which made it really fun. The actors were very good and very nice to all the children taking part.'
The show is fairly long by Fringe standards, at 1 hour 45 minutes, so great value for money, and there is a short interval for toilet breaks and the opportunity to buy ice cream. There are also flashing cutlasses available to buy on the way in, if you fancy adding a little extra to your theatre trip. Definitely worth a look if you have primary age children to entertain.
Suitable for ages 5 - 12
Reviewed by Abigail Fuller 11 August