A fantasy of time, mist and memory unfolds in this imaginative adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s alluring, sometimes dark story of the boy who would not grow up.

The original 1904 play was expanded into the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911, Disney had a Bowdlerised cartoon crack at it, and stage productions since 1955 have garnered or been nominated for many Tony Awards. The combination of Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg delivered a hit film version in 1991. Troye Sivan, Taylor Swift, Chance The Rapper, Korean boy bands BTS and EXO and the UK’s Kate Bush, among others, have all dabbled with the characters in song. In New Zealand, even, there are statues of Peter and Tinker Bell, and the Darling children in Dunedin’s Botanic Gardens, while Peter’s statue can also be seen in Whanganui.

It’s easy to see why the literally timeless tale has attracted attention and mischievous minds right up to this latest incarnation by Carl Bland. While it is far from the affecting movie of 2004, with Johnny Depp at his best and a $25m budget, it is a delightful and engaging adventure, once you let yourself be drawn in.

“Children have the strangest adventures,” wrote Barrie, “without being troubled by them” and so we are invited to become children again at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. It is hard to avoid being subducted by the undertones of loss and pain which is “the only thing you can trust,” according to Captain Hook. The author’s brother died after an ice-skating accident on the eve of his fourteenth birthday, and he has placed The Darlings address meaningfully at “number fourteen”, while in this version, Carl Bland has featured a deceased Darling child, Michael, who has died in an ice- skating accident (or has he?). Recurring themes include the loss of youth and innocence, and the torture of separation from love and loved ones. Time is the unseen driver of the story, with the obvious metaphor being the ticking of the croc. The thing about time, we are told, is that you can set the hands to any time you want and, as Tinkerbell (Tinker Bell) observes, “we all get lost sometimes”.

Flashbacks to Pan’s (Barrie’s?) childhood are very cleverly illustrated by projected, perceptive and thought-provoking graphics that occasionally pop up. The pitfalls of being PC are happily avoided, with Piccaninnies and “redskins” being absent. The Lost Boys, populated by the enthusiastic Auckland Theatre Youth Company are of no obvious particular ethnicity, Hook is played by an actress, and the traditional trouser role of Pan is actually inhabited by a male. But then here’s me being an adult again! If we spend this whole review examining the psychology of Peter Pan, we will never get to the performance!

It all begins with a (mostly) blank stage onto the edge of which singer Anika Moa slithers as the Mermaid Queen, complete with her own phonetic language. While a few of the children in the audience react with her, on opening night there is relatively little uptake, which raises one of the big questions, is this show for children (it’s runtime exceeding two hours suggests not) or is it for the adults? In an earlier version, of which there are many, it is only the audience participation, largely by children exhorted to clap or wish, that saves Tinker Bell from death, but the directors have wisely chosen not to go down that path, sparing the handful of little ones who have come out on a dark night.

Taking literally from the original novel, the Darling children’s night lights, “eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children”, are lit to great effect and so we take off towards the second star to the right and fly on ‘til morning, trying not to strike too much turbulence from the wicked wisdom and innate sadness that underscores much of Barrie’s tale.

The most enjoyable panto performance of Jennifer Ludlam as Captain Hook is beautifully pitched as the cartoon villain pirate but hardens with a sadistic touch that is true to the original. Theo Shakes is the other really confident player, exuding the bravado of Pan who describes himself as youth and joy, and is cherubic yet petulant. Nova Moala-Knox is a   quietly calm Wendy. Angus Stevens as her brother John is less convincing and needs to settle into his role, although, by definition, teenage awkwardness is a difficult persona to convey confidently.

Is this a musical, a pantomime, or a play? While the two bewigged stage-side musicians craft sound effects expertly, the Kaupapa is not really that of a musical. Leonard Bernstein’s 1950 lyrics and melodies did set a bar that few could surmount, but even then, with The Maestro’s brilliance, Peter Pan (and Wendy) remained a play with just a few songs. Claire Cowan’s 2024 score is understated and not really lifted by inconsistent mic use that seldom allows the singing to fill the theatre. Perhaps it is first night nerves, but the dialogue is also unclear at times; Tess Sullivan’s otherwise admirable Tiger Lily has her words obscured by her wolf mask, and the athletic Junghwi Jo as Tinkerbell has some mumbly moments. The moving voice of Lotima Nicholas Pome’e as Skate eventually shows just how beautiful the singing can be when well mic-ed. The irony in his name is a mystery revealed, and shows  once again how the story is threaded through with portent and, to a large degree, cynicism in the guise of innocence.

Of course, we all want to see how convincingly the flight scenes are executed, and the directors have chosen to make little effort to conceal the wires, due to lighting and their obvious use, however the process of attaching and detaching is done discretely with admirable, quiet precision. In one scene, a most effective projection gauze is lowered to show memories of deceased brother Michael, obscuring the wires effectively, and one wonders why this masking technique is not used more.

Animals usually steal the stage, and the early appearance of true-to-life, well-rehearsed Bernese Mountain Dog Roux as Nana is met with a round of applause. The mock croc with the clock is most impressive, smoothly creeping around in search of Hook, and various creative sea creatures and model birds provide much amusement, and more than a little cruel pleasure, as they are shot or kicked into touch. The rendering of the seascape at the front of the stage works well, however the model-size pirate ship with its jerky movements is not so effective. The mermaids’ tails are magical.

Does the show live up to the prior buzz that shivered in anticipation in the foyer? The little girl trying to keep her green fairy wings from snagging on the seats certainly appeared to think so. But, as for the adults, were we transported to Neverland? I was more captivated by the depths of the literary work than by the mermaids’ lagoon, but this was a welcome reminder of the timelessness of innocence, and thus it will go on, “so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless”.

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