Peter & the Starcatcher (Capitol Theatre) ★★★★

Written by Rick Elice. Based on the novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson. Music and lyrics by Wayne Barker. Capitol Theatre until 9 February.

Magical staging and joyous performances combine for a sparklingly silly show. If, like me, you’re a sucker for fairy lights and the odd fart joke, you’ll love this Peter Pan prequel. Just don’t think about it too hard.

Thirteen-year-old Molly Aster (Olivia Deeble) is determined to prove she’s grown up by helping her father, Lord Aster (Alison Whyte), on a mission and showing she can be a fully fledged Starcatcher. While Lord Aster carries an important trunk full of Starstuff on the ship The Wasp, he puts Molly and her nanny Mrs Bumbrake (Lucy Goleby) on the slower but safer Never Land. There, Molly finds three orphans, including a Boy with no name (Otis Dhanji). But when The Wasp is attacked by pirates, led by the fierce (in a camp way) pirate Black Stache (Colin Lane), it becomes a race to catch the Never Land, which leads both ships to an unknown island full of hungry locals… and a big crocodile.

Director/designer David Morton has opted for a “more-is-more” approach to what is essentially a panto that could be performed in a school library with minimal props and a lot of gusto. The script is full of narration designed to tell rather than show, with wordplay that trips off the tongue. It’s all aimed at kids, with some jokes hidden for the grown-ups. In the hands of Morton and the Dead Puppet Society, however, the story has literally grown in the telling, full of awe-inspiring puppetry that puts that other show to shame.

The level of silliness is high, and all the better for it. There’s a sprinkle of sentimentality, but the real selling point here is the multicoloured world they’ve created. Some sharp commentary about British colonialism and gender roles will keep the grown-ups amused between the bum jokes and broad racial stereotyping aimed at the kids. The word “focaccia” has never been so well deployed as by Ryan González’s Fighting Prawn.

And the cast are having a ball on stage. Especially Colin Lane and Pete Helliar, who threaten to descend into giggles at any moment (or at least are pretending to corpse… I was a little suspicious). It all works because, as loose and chaotic as the show appears, it snaps back into tight formation when it needs to. The pieces of set glide around the stage with ease, and the choreography of some simple lighting tricks is wondrous to watch—very simple stage magic deployed with finesse. Something that that other show would do well to study.

Olivia Deeble is feisty and acrobatic as the young Molly, suitably endearing and annoying. Otis Dhanji is inquisitive and brash as the young Boy (no prizes for guessing who he becomes—his name is in the title). Colin Lane’s Black Stache owes a debt to Robert De Niro’s Captain Shakespeare from the film Stardust. I can forgive the rather two-dimensional racial stereotypes and borderline queer jokes because this is a simplistic family story, and the core message is positive.

Prequels are generally pointless, and I don’t think audiences were crying out to discover how a magical boy who doesn’t age ended up on an island, but the corporate mining of IP never ends. Were you curious how Peter Pan got his name? Of course, you weren’t, but you’ll find out. How was Tinkerbell created? Never crossed your mind? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you. How did that crocodile get so big? We’ve got you covered. To their credit, Barry and Pearson’s tale doesn’t diminish the beauty of the original by explaining away the magic too much, and Elice’s adaptation puts Molly front and centre rather than Peter, which helps ground the story. While it hits all the familiar beats you expect from a tale in Neverland (crocodiles, pirates, mermaids), each is given a new spin.

So, it’s a shame that, on opening night, things were threatened by muddy, unclear sound. Group numbers were reduced to a well-choreographed wall of noise, and much of the witty script was difficult to catch. These moments were saved by the dazzling costumes and terrific cast.

If you’re looking for fun, laughs, and some spectacle, then Peter and the Starcatcher is just the charm bomb you’ll want. If you’re worried that it’s a “kids’ show,” you’ll be fine—there’s enough for the grown-ups to make it an enjoyable trip. And for the theatre nerds, there’s great puppetry and stagecraft on display.

PS – Walking home, I had a real hankering to rewatch Mischief Theatre’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong.