Latest articles from Pat Harper

Peter Pan, Watermill Theatre, Newbury. Until January 4

‘Butter me barnacles’, as Captain Hook says – what a wonderful show! Robin Belfield and Simon Slater have collaborated before at the Watermill - Pinocchio, Wind in the Willows, Treasure Island - so expectations were high. Every single one was exceeded: I smiled from first sight of the huge blue moon through to the storming finale two hours later.

Journey's End, Watermill Theatre, Newbury. Until October 11

This is the story of one day in the trenches of World War I. Playwright RC Sherriff, who became a Hollywood screenwriter on films such as Goodbye Mr Chips and The Dambusters, fought at Passchendaele, where he said he met all his characters.

Hardboiled - The Fall of Sam Shadow, Watermill Theatre, Newbury. Until July 12.

When Hardboiled began, I have to say my heart sank. It was very loud and too dark to see what was going on, and I’m too old to sit in the dark for two hours. Then the lights came up and suddenly we were in Philip Marlowe territory, with PI (or Gumshoe, naturally) Sam Shadow (Julian Spooner) in his downtown LA office, with PA Betty (Jess Mabel Jones). And off we went on a rollicking pastiche of every film noir known to man.