Tag: Stavros Demetraki

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BREVIEW: Peter Pan @ Birmingham REP – running until 19.01.20

Words by Vix & Ruby-Lou / Pics by Johan Persson

The opening scene of Birmingahm REP’s new production of Peter Pan, ‘reimagined’ by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou, is set outside a dull and depressingly grey concrete apartment block, where adults and youths collide and tensions run high.

Wendy (Cora Tsang) plays an angsty teenager in foster care, with major trust and abandonment issues, who ‘mothers’ her foster brothers and has clearly lost all concept of her own carefree youthfulness.

Nia Gwynne plays Jess, the children’s patient foster mother – and later a fabulously female Hook, scared of nothing; nothing but the crocodile’s ticking clock.

We are soon transported to a fantastical urban underworld; imagine Peter Pan being given the Mad Max treatment, but with way more vibrant, clashing colour. The crew kick it with a rap-rock track and we can feel their energy. Ruby-Lou turns to me wide-eyed, “Mummy! This is brilliant!” I agree. The whole ‘Post-Apocalyptic Day-glo Steampunk’ vibe is a visual delight.

Lawrence Walker is an amiable Peter Pan, staying true to the iconic character, whilst Tinkerbell (Mirabelle Gremaud) is a feisty, foul-mouthed fairy. Let me clarify, when I say ‘foul-mouthed’, the worse it gets is her calling anyone and everyone a “silly ass”. Ruby-Lou is quite shocked (I’m pleased and proud to say) exclaiming: “Tinkerbell is my favourite, but why does she keep saying that?!”

Thankfully, my 9 year old daughter totally understands when I explain Tink is angry, unhappy, and doesn’t have anyone to tell her what’s right and wrong etc – one of the intended morals of the play. Plus, Tink flies about wearing a spacetastic silver tinsel and glitter outfit which is great fun to watch (I’m sure I wore something very similar with Fuzzbox on John Peel stage at Glastonbury back in ’86!).

Needless to say, REP’s new production of Peter Pan is right up our street – following the parallel universes and the deeper parallel meanings, and for me relating to my own experience running Community projects with LAC (Looked After Children) and Foster Families.

Moreover, as a proud Brummie born and bred, I am delighted to hear local accents (far more authentic than in Peaky Blinders, I might add) in a new take on a literary classic that has been adapted ‘specifically for Birmingham audiences.’ Thank you for the positive promo Birmingham REP.

I ask Ruby-Lou her thoughts and she exclaims that this is “the best show ever! The actors, the scenery changes, the songs, the costumes…!” We unanimously give Peter Pan a big fat 10 out of 10 – this imaginative reimagining by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou is everything it promises to be, and then some.

On stage at the Birmingham REP well into the New Year, there is still a chance for many more people to catch this wonderfully creative and contemporary take on a classic festive fave. Peter Pan runs until 19th Jan, so book your tickets now and let a little magic in. The clock inside that pesky croc is not the only one ticking down…

Vix & Ruby-Lou’s Live Vlog Review – Peter Pan @ Birmingham REP

A special season’s greeting from Vix & Ruby-Lou

Peter Pan runs at the Birmingham REP until 19th January 2020 – adapted by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou. For direct show information, including a full production schedule and links to online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan

For more on the Birmingham REP, including venue details and further listings, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

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BPREVIEW: Peter Pan @ Birmingham REP – running until 19.01.20

Words by Ed King / Pics by Johan Persson

Running throughout Christmas and up to 19th January 2020, a new production of Peter Pan comes to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre – offering a “brand new re-imagined version” of the J.M Barrie classic, one that has been adapted “specifically for Birmingham audiences.”

A production that is accessible for both children (aged 7 plus) and adults, and those that sit resolute between the two, tickets for Peter Pan range from £15 – £39.50 – depending on date/time of the show and seating position within the theatre.

For more direct information, including the full production schedule and links to online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan

**Peter Pan will be presenting a relaxed matinee performance on Sunday 5th January 2020, at 2:15pm – with a special evening show interpreted by British sign language on Tuesday 7th January 2020, at 7:15pm. Click here for more details.**

There is the old adage, ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. And Peter Pan is a classic. But Liam Steel and Georgia Christou are unperturbed, taking the J.M. Barrie fairy tale from the tight lipped turn of the century and dragging it into modernity – replacing London’s ‘seen and not heard’ cast of children with the yute and yoofs of millennial Birmingham. The characters have been shaken up, gender bent, and the coy copy on the show’s press release promises ‘surprise twists in the casting.’ That and a man eating crocodile, so I guess some things are still status quo in Neverland.

But there are some pretty strong credentials at the helm of ‘Peter Pan in Birmingham’ (say it out loud), with Georgia Christou’s debut play, Yous Two, being shortlisted for a Verity Bargate Award in 2015 – paving the way for a solid portfolio on both stage and screen.

Her co-adapter and Peter Pan director, Liam Steel, also has a pretty gleaming CV across musical theatre and film – riding the success from his adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which ran with aplomb at the Birmingham REP this time last year. Well, The Guardian called it a ‘thrilling Oz of racial diversity, gender reversal and voguing androgyny… more current – and vibrant – than the MGM musical.’ Sorry Judy.

“All the beloved characters will be there,” explains Liam Steel – talking about his and Christou’s adaptation, “but we have transposed it from London 1904 to Birmingham 2019 and made the characters much more relatable and relevant for a modern day audience. For children encountering the story for the first time, I want them to feel this was how the characters were originally written, and for those who know the story well, then I want them to experience it with the joy of re-discovery, as though they are hearing it for the very first time all over again. 

With spectacular flying, incredible sets on a huge scale, ingenious puppetry, out of this world costumes and of course a giant man eating crocodile, audiences can expect to see one of the most visually spectacular Christmas shows ever to grace The REP’s stage.”

Danke schön, Herr Direktor. But there’s another old adage: ‘the first bite is with the eye’. So, here’s a sneaky peak of Steel and Christou’s Peter Pan (…in Birmingham) – courtesy of Costume Designer, Laura Jane Stanfield.

Peter Pan runs at the Birmingham REP until 19th January 2020 – adapted by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou. For direct show information, including a full production schedule and links to online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan

For more on the Birmingham REP, including venue details and further listings, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

________

NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.