Wendy and Peter Pan, Devizes School, Mac's Theatre School

Wendy and Peter Pan follows the much loved children's classic, but adds its own modern twist, which Ella Hickson's story does perfectly. The underlying comedy creates a perfect contrast to the gory scenes of pirates and sword-fights.

Mac's Theatre School tackled this enormous task of a play with pure imagination and creativity. The Darling family - Mrs Darling (Emily Caslin), Mr Darling (Joe M) and the children, Wendy (Bliss Sibley-Greenslade), John (Olivia Halpin), Michael (Matty W), Tom (Olly F), were perfect casting and had this naturalistic sibling rivalry which was utterly hilarious.

Peter Pan’s energy (Jasmine Buck) captured the room every time she entered the stage.

Of course, the story in itself is a difficult one to master; with elements such as flying and fairies, which could so easily have broken the magical illusion of “Neverland”.

Instead, Mac's Theatre School decided to do quite the opposite and capture flight by the beauty of dance and ballet. Through symbolism, I thought this choice of dance was so beautiful and even added to the mystic feel of the show along with fight scenes choreographed by Thomas Mullings, which again added this sense of excitement and fantasy. All the cast did brilliantly well and I loved the female-dominant emphasis. One scene in particular saw Smee (Matthew Newcombe) re-enact the Titanic with Captain Hook (Rosie Boother); which provided witty comedic timing.

The set design was intimate, with slick and effective scene changes to transport us to each location. Neverland and Darling household scenes were in parallel as a semiotic between reality and fantasy. The costume hinted at this modern adaptation and I loved the way effects were used to capture setting as well as location.

Fairy lights lit up the back of the stage to indicate when it was night-time, which all linked to this spiritual theme. Although at points, the vocals were a little quiet, the talent and hard work of this theatre school should be praised. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Nia Powell