A ship full of fairy dust _{by Madelaine Empson}

The Pantoloons are at it again! The beloved children’s theatre company will bring evil pirates, tantrummy fairies, lost kids, and a very hungry crocodile to Lower Hutt’s Little Theatre on the 26^th and 27^th of September, Paraparaumu’s Southward Theatre on the 29^th, and Carterton Events Centre on the 2^nd of October. Eyes up for our high-flying hero, Peter Pan!

Writer and director Amanda Stone, who has been creating children’s pantomimes for a whopping 23 years, says The Pantoloons last performed Peter Pan five years ago and have updated it once again to keep up with the times. Traditional yet contemporary, this rendition will have all the loony twists you’ve come to know and love – like a Tinkerbell who gets banished until the end of the school holidays, a Captain (Jane) Hook who’s begged by her pirate employees to try a little positive reinforcement, and an Elvis song about a teddy bear.

Couple that with a ship-full of magic and fairy dust, barrel-loads of laughter, and shanties to shake yer booty to, and you have a show that’ll leave your littlies hooked. If yer a grownup, there are neat jokes and deeper themes of feminism to sink yer gold teeth into.

Peter Pan is delivered by a treasure chest of a cast loaded with veteran Loonsters and newbies alike – including original company member Tanisha Wardle and 16-year-old Sienna Rusling in her Pantoloons debut.

Heave-ho to Neverland for the family adventure of a lifetime!