"Peter Pan - The Pantomime" by Alex Jackson.

Burton Joyce Players.

Burton Joyce Village Hall.

Peter Pan, Nanna, Wendy, John, and Michael Darling take flight in a magical world full of pirates, fairies, and The Lost Boys; the most terrifying, tyrannous, traitors trampling the turbulent territory. Peter faces off against the sneaky Captain Hook who is batting away the inimitable panto dame Nanny McSmee.

This family-friendly show bursts out with catchy tunes, silly jokes, and plenty of chances for the audience to join in the fun. Whether you’re cheering for the lost boys or booing the pirates, there’s something here for everyone.

This is possibly the largest cast I've seen for Burton Joyce Players, and there are plenty of parts to play so let's take a look at who's who in this magical Neverland story....

Peter Pan, the boy that never grew up, is played by Isla Hilton with a lovely amount of theatricality. From the moment that Peter bursts through the open window of the Darling children's bedroom, to the final bows, Isla gives the role everything she has with perfect pomp and precision.

Tinker Bell, Peter’s best friend, the good fairy is played by Lily Musson, who gets to show off a fine pair of lungs as she duets on a couple of numbers, including "You're My Best Friend", the Queen classic, showing that both Lily and Isla have royally good voices.

Wendy Darling is played by Isabelle Williams, always keeping that mature "big sister" air as she looks after her siblings, the Lost Boys and of course, Peter Pan.

John Darling Wendy’s younger brother, is played by Henry Chaloner. I am so pleased to see that the costume includes the top hat, stick and big glasses, as I have seen several versions of Peter Pan where this isn't the case, and this, for me, defines John's character.

Michael Darling Wendy and John’s younger brother, is played by Charlie Cauldwell. Michael always looks to be having the best time, being the youngest of the Darling family, but I get the feeling that Charlie is having such a good time playing him by the big grin on his face at the final bows.

Nanna Darling Wendy, John and Michael’s pet dog is played marvellously by William Cauldwell. the scene where Nanna tells Peter where the children are is so much like those comedy sketches where the dog relates what has happened to the missing people in a conversational style, that it did not fail to make me smile.

Nanny McSmee The Darlings’ nanny and in this pantomime Smee Jnr’s mother is another wonderful Dame of the pantomime. Played by Greg Nicholas, there's just the right amount of smuttiness for the adults and lots of childish carrying on for the kids, although I got the feeling that some of the kids in also got the slightly naughtier innuendos as well! Great costumes and make up for Nanny.

Smee Jnr. Mrs Smee’s son is one of Captain James Hook's crew and played by Steve Armstrong. Steve carries the comedy along well and drives a lot of the scenes with great pace.

Mr Darling/Captain Hook, the evil captain of the Jolly Roger is played by one of my favourite comedy baddies, Christopher Mercer. Whatever character Chris plays he really gets under that character's skin and morphs into the character and he does that again as Captain Hook. From his first black booted step onto the Burton Joyce Village Hall stage he commanded the stage as well as the audience to give him their best booing, and they did not disappoint. It's a good job that Chris has one of those voices that booms through projection as we could hear every word over the booing sea of audience members, and I noticed that it was a collaborative effort of children as well as adults providing the boos, showing that everyone got in on the act.

Gentleman Starkey Pirate is played by Bertie Black, not that you'd notice him with the heavy beard, eye patch and pirate's hat pulled over his face. Great physicality in the role as he slowly made his way on and off stage, showing the aged pirate years in his gait as well as his loss of hearing, which resulted in some comical moments. One thing there is no mistaking is his voice though and in that sone where the whole audience join in and then are separated to see who sings it the loudest, you can instantly tell that distinctive voice.

Snarky Pirate is played by Molly Fitches, Snarly Pirate is played by Hannah Smith in another lovely double act. The other pirates were played by Anthony Owen, James Whitby and Patrick McDonald.

Brown Owl, the leader of the First Neverland Brownies is played by Avril McCormack, showing a brusque authoritarian side of the leader.

The ensemble of Brownies are played by Olivia Pearce, Dixie Kirk, Inez Wood, Tahmina Hollins, Molly Williams, Florence Pietrantonio and Jasmine Pietrantonio.

The Mermaid, who is in charge of Mermaid Lagoon is played by Sheila Millington, and completely unrecognisable. A lovely fun, tongue in cheek rendition of "It's Raining Men" featured two topless and muscle bound hunks, well sort of!

Tiger Lily, who is captured by Captain Hook and his crew is played by Inez Wood.

Peter Pan’s Shadow is played by Molly Williams in a very clever scene showing the shadow darting about all over the place and when caught by Nanna, they try to attach the shadow to Peter, as in the original story, but the shadow only appears to be attached to Peter with a trick of the light!

Crocodile is played by Olivia Pearce in a lovely fun way, and a brilliant crocodile costume as well.

Peter Pan's Lost Boys are played by Jessie Murdock, Austin Kirk, Sarika Hare, Charlotte Morris and Robyn Stephen.

As you can see a large cast.

Directed by Kathy Matthews who has put together a lovely and fun cast to work their magic on these roles. They kept the pace up and the comedy and songs rolling on throughout the show.

Musical Director is Christopher Mercer who has chosen some toe tapping and APT tunes for the pantomime, making sure that the ends of both acts were closed with big numbers. There's a nice mix of musical theatre show tunes, pop bangers and singalongs to keep your ears happy.

The costumes by Jill Toogood and Kathy Matthews were excellent, especially Hook's and Nanny McSmee's, but every one of them really stood out.

Lynn Carr was the Set Designer, as well as the Stage Manager, keeping everything rolling along.

The Stage Crew consisted of Molly Fitches, Mark Hilton, David Matthews, Patrick McDonough, Bob Mercer, Trevor Moseley, Greg Nicholas and Steve Wright. And when there are so many cast members, this job is not always as smooth sailing as it was on Wednesday night.

Sound and Lighting Technician is Steve Armstrong with the light operation by David Matthews and sound operation by Deborah Craddock.

There's also a lovely touch with video showing Peter and the Darling children and Nanna flying over some recognisable landmarks at night, created by Dan Byrne.

The Graphic Designer is Dan Miller (89 Design).

Helen Sharp co-ordinated the fight scenes.

Another swashbuckling and fun production by Burton Joyce Players which is always enthusiastically supported by the surrounding areas, in fact there are very few tickets left for the rest of the week, so you'd better hurry up if you want to try and get a ticket for this one.

Oh, and I must not forget to mention the wonderfully comfy new seats that Burton Joyce Players have for their audiences to sit on; another reason to get yourself tickets!

"Peter Pan The Pantomime" is at Burton Joyce Village Hall until Saturday 31 January.