"A joyous masterclass of physical comedy and general disaster" (Fiona Mountford, 2015)
In Peter Pan Goes Wrong, by Mischief Theatre, the much-loved members of The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society battle against collapsing sets, flying mishaps and numerous miscues on their way to Neverland with hilarious and disastrous results, much to the dismay of any stage manager. I watched this play on the 17th of November mid-way through their second Christmas run at the Apollo Theatre, London. Here, Mischief Theatre cleverly time perfect mishaps playing on the audience’s love for backstage and onstage catastrophes.
There are unlimited possibilities for disaster with the use of the revolving stage …show more content…
In the opening scene George Darling asks for a spoon to give the children their medicine. Since the spoon was missing the only thing available was a pair scissors, which resulted in the medicine being poured all over floor and George Darling slipping and falling in the spillage. This, although extremely funny, could be very dangerous without a lot of rehearsal and careful planning from the stage management team. This very intricate form of slap stick comedy is used a lot throughout the play, from a gobo falling from the rigs inches away from actor’s heads or parts of the set falling on top of actors. The actor playing Lucy Grove, or Tootles with in Cornley Polytechnic’s Production, is the victim of most of these physical slap stick jokes. She is trapped under falling trees, thrown off ships and ends up in a wheel chair. Her character would not be as comical without this careful planning and the use of clever set devises, to create the idea of ladders collapsing and wooden planks hitting her in the face. These devises make the audience believe the actors have actually been the victim of many unfortunate set
In Peter Pan Goes Wrong, by Mischief Theatre, the much-loved members of The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society battle against collapsing sets, flying mishaps and numerous miscues on their way to Neverland with hilarious and disastrous results, much to the dismay of any stage manager. I watched this play on the 17th of November mid-way through their second Christmas run at the Apollo Theatre, London. Here, Mischief Theatre cleverly time perfect mishaps playing on the audience’s love for backstage and onstage catastrophes.
There are unlimited possibilities for disaster with the use of the revolving stage …show more content…
In the opening scene George Darling asks for a spoon to give the children their medicine. Since the spoon was missing the only thing available was a pair scissors, which resulted in the medicine being poured all over floor and George Darling slipping and falling in the spillage. This, although extremely funny, could be very dangerous without a lot of rehearsal and careful planning from the stage management team. This very intricate form of slap stick comedy is used a lot throughout the play, from a gobo falling from the rigs inches away from actor’s heads or parts of the set falling on top of actors. The actor playing Lucy Grove, or Tootles with in Cornley Polytechnic’s Production, is the victim of most of these physical slap stick jokes. She is trapped under falling trees, thrown off ships and ends up in a wheel chair. Her character would not be as comical without this careful planning and the use of clever set devises, to create the idea of ladders collapsing and wooden planks hitting her in the face. These devises make the audience believe the actors have actually been the victim of many unfortunate set