Pan origin story sprinkles fairy dust on opening night

Pan origin story sprinkles fairy dust on opening night

Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice

Capitol Theatre, Sydney

Theatre, film, and television have seen quite a few origin stories in recent years—from the theatrical mega-hit and cinematic juggernaut Wicked to Disney’s visually spectacular Cruella and Netflix’s Wednesday and Penguin, audiences love to explore how archetypal characters became the way we know, love (and sometimes love to hate) them. 

Rick Elice’s five-time Tony Award-winning adaptation of the 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is a prequel to J M Barrie’s famous book Peter Pan and Wendy and serves as the origin story of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tinkerbell, and Hook. It tells the story of an unnamed orphan (who is eventually named Peter Pan) who longs for a home and family and a young girl named Molly Aster who is devoted to her father and the cause of the star catchers. 

Molly’s father, Lord Aster, is transporting a trunk of magical “star stuff” to the kingdom of Rundoon on his ship, The Wasp, but pirate captain Stache (who eventually becomes Captain Hook) captures Aster, thinking he has the trunk. Little does he know that the trunk has been switched out by Bill Slank, the captain of a ship called The Neverland, on which is Molly, her Nanny and three orphan boys. The Neverland is wrecked, and the survivors, including Peter, Molly and the trunk of star stuff, end up on a mysterious island while Stache and his plot to capture them and the star stuff. 

On the island, the orphans are captured by the Mollusks but are saved by Molly, an apprentice star catcher who uses the star stuff. Peter learns from a mermaid that star stuff can transform him, and he takes the name of Pan. Stache lures Peter and the lost boys into a trap and Peter trades the star stuff for Molly’s safety. After learning that the star stuff has dissolved in the water, Stache accidentally loses his hand, and it is fed to a crocodile. The Asters welcome the orphans, but Peter, affected by the star stuff, cannot leave with them. He and the boys stay on the island (which they name Neverland), and after sadly bidding farewell to Molly, Peter takes flight, beginning his journey as Peter Pan – the boy who never grows up.

The dialogue is hilariously funny and campy, biting in parts and thoroughly engaging. It is deftly delivered by one of the tightest and most accomplished casts that could be assembled on an Australian stage. Otis Dhanji’s Peter and Olivia Deeble’s Molly perfectly match and deliver their parts with authenticity and chemistry. They are two excellent young actors, and I can’t wait to see where their careers take them next. 

Veteran Australian comedians Colin Lane (Captain Stache) and Pete Helliar (Smee) steal the show entirely with moments of slapstick mixed with deadpan delivery and witty asides directed to the audience. Honourable mentions also to cabaret legend Paul Capsis – who is side-splittingly funny in the roles of Bill Slank and the Hawking Clam, and Ryan Gonzales who had the opening night audience rolling the aisles of the Capitol Theatre in the dual roles of the fighting clam and Sanchez. 

This production is visually stunning, featuring puppets created locally in Brisbane by the world-famous Dead Puppet Society. The puppets, especially TikTok the Crocodile, seamlessly combine timeless craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. In fact, all elements of this production are thoughtful and clever and enhance the story telling. 

The show’s emotional climax brought a lump to my throat as Peter said goodbye to Molly, and we saw what essentially was the birth of Tinkerbell. Sunday night’s audience had collective chills when Peter discovered he could fly. 

Peter and the Starcatcher is whimsical and filled with adventure. It reminds us never to stop dreaming and to harness the power of our imaginations – which is more important in the world now than ever before. It is about the importance of friendship and finding a place where you belong. This production is stunning and delivered with heart and authenticity. It is rare to find a play that can have you laughing hysterically one minute and your eyes brimming with tears the next, and this show does exactly that. This is the story of the boy at the very moment he decides he never wants to grow up. In today’s world, is anyone ever too old to never grow up?

Peter and the Star Catcher is written by Rick Elice and directed by David Morton. It is produced by Dead Puppet Society, Glass Half Full Productions, Jones Theatrical Group and Damien Hewitt Productions and is currently playing Sydney’s Capitol Theatre.

Photos: Daniel Boud

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In his past lives, Damien was a drag queen and musical theatre actor. He made his stage debut as a fat cow in a school production of Joseph in 1984. He holds a BA with a major in drama from the University of Newcastle. He is completely obsessed with musical theatre – especially Broadway divas.
Since relocating to Sydney at the beginning of 2024, he attends every musical he can get to and lives with his partner and grumpy 12-year-old poodle.
His claim to fame is that he once met Patti Lupone in New York and she was nice to him.

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