Starlight Academy presents “Peter Pan” the classic story about a boy that escaped to Neverland, so that he never had to grow up. He meets the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael, whom he convinces to go with him to Neverland where their adventure takes place.

We first met Tinkerbell who gave us a gentle and sweet opening to the show. Dressed all in green, with her magic wand, she spread her fairy magic and transported us to London where we met the Darlings.

This was a showcase opportunity for Starlight, crammed with a lot of energy and dance routines. The costumes gave lots of vibrant colour and great character to each routine. I particularly really liked the costumes themed around the mermaids and the sea.

There were so many ‘ahhhh’ moments when the tiniest of little ones came out to perform. They provided the audience with some charming and fun routines.

The senior commercial dancers added a whole level of wow to the production! Their dance ability was exemplary and when they appeared they commanded the stage and our attention. It’s hard to pick out any one performer, however, three did stand out for me. Firstly Thea, playing Wendy, had so much to learn. She was hardly off stage! She performed beautifully with modern, ballet, contemporary… you name it – she nailed it.

Two others that stood out for me were Oliver and Callum. Their dance together was so captivating and most enjoyable. Well done both of you!

At times there were some gaps between songs that felt too long, and some transitions between scenes/songs were not seamless. Some dancers were having extreme quick changes to deal with and having to join routines part way through.

There were moments of pure joy and happiness and some very full scenes with lots to occupy the audiences attention at once. It would have been great to have a dedicated number purely for the aerial hoop and the silks. It took me while to notice the aerial hoop on the stage, and when I did it was entertaining to watch.

The show was long and with 38 routines, and the rather long gaps between songs while waiting for some to change, made it a long show. I enjoyed my afternoon and the performances of all the children. I felt that, potentially, a more refined/reduced amount of routines would have assisted in a smoother show, along with reducing the amount of “quick changes needed” to allow for a free-flowing production. The story element was only kept together by the tiny amount of dialogue between routines provided either by the cast or the narrator.

I could see the vision, the hard work and effort put into the show. Well done to all involved!