Immersion back with Pan-tomime adventure

IMMERSION Theatre is back with this year’s Kenton Theatre panto and a Peter Pan story with a twist, one that is guaranteed to get audiences, err, hooked…

James Tobias, who runs Immersion together with his wife, Rochelle Parry, is keen not to give away any plot spoilers for The Further Adventures of Peter Pan (and the Revenge of Captain Hook). However, it will have an air of familiarity in relation to J M Barrie’s original story, where Wendy Darling and her brothers fly to a mysterious land with Peter Pan, a boy who can fly.

“We still have all the characters that we know and love, such as Captain Hook, Peter and Tink,” says James.

“It just follows a different character instead of Wendy, in which they take her over to Fairyland because of Captain Hook…”

Captain Hook (played by Charlie Bryant) is up to no good and Peter Pan (Louis Gladman) and his gang have to put a stop to their mischievous plans.

Tink is played by Shelby Speed, Lily by Keri Rae, Sally Starkers by Jess Jones and Silly Sammy by Tom Isted.

The panto has an all-new cast and has been made bespoke for Henley, after an award-winning iteration at Harrow Arts Centre last year, which starred James and Rochelle.

The couple got married last October, having got engaged on the stage of the Kenton back in 2015, appropriately enough when they were in a run of Peter Pan by a different company. James played Captain Hook and Rochelle played Tinkerbell.

“It seems we’ve got a real affinity with the title,” says James.

“Last year was our last year actually performing in panto for the foreseeable future, so it just so happened to be a really lovely bookend, getting engaged to Peter Pan and then stepping off the stage in a production of Peter Pan by pure coincidence.”

He describes the current cast, who were on-hand for the Christmas lights switch-on in Henley, as “absolutely fabulous”.

“We’ve got a brand-new cast this year at the Kenton and I’m really excited. A lot of them are quite new to the company but they are incredibly experienced, this is just a new cast that we’ve wanted to work with.

“Tom, who plays the comic this year, is someone that we’ve worked with before. He actually played our comic when we did Peter Pan as an outdoor tour the year before last. He’s fabulous and I’m so excited to work with him again.

“Tom is such a joy to work with and he’s so funny and he’s so talented – audiences are definitely going to love him.

“We’re very lucky to have someone like Shelby as well, who has come over from the Mercury Theatre in Colchester which is where she’s been doing panto for a number of years. The fact that she’s coming over to grace us is really exciting. We’ve got a genuinely phenomenal cast.”

Known for their high-energy, interactive pantos, including last year’s Snow White and the previous year’s Jack and the Beanstalk at the Kenton, Immersion will be presenting a show jam-packed with action, comedy and Henley references.

“We’re so aware to make it local to the community but also not to alienate anyone from surrounding areas, so regardless of where they’re coming from there’s definitely something for everyone. There might be the odd mention to Slough, Maidenhead or Reading...”

This time around, there is a special emphasis on the tunes.

“This is certainly one of my favourites in terms of the music that we’ve got in the show,” says James.

“It’s probably one of my favourite scores. I think we’ve got some of the most electric songs that we have in any of our show catalogues. We’ve got everything from Queen to Matilda for the little ones which will go down an absolute storm.

“It’s real rock ’n’ roll, we’ve got the Time Warp, Don’t Stop Me Now, we’ve got Revolting Children, a bit of Elton John. It’s a real get-up-and-dance show.

“It seems that we’ve really developed a loyal following in Henley and it’s just building every year so it’s really lovely.”

l Immersion Theatre presents The Further Adventures of Peter Pan (and the Revenge of Captain Hook) at the Kenton Theatre from tomorrow (Saturday) to Tuesday, December 30. There is also a chance to meet some of the cast and get photos after shows on December 12 (4.30pm), 19 (6pm), 23 (6pm) and 28 (2.30pm). Tickets cost £28.75 adults, £22.75 under-16s (£24.75 with meet and greet), £26.75 concessions. Family discounts are available and there is a relaxed performance on Monday, December 15 at 6pm (tickets cost £14.75). There is a signed performance on Monday, December 22 at 2.30pm. For more information, call the box office on (01491) 525050 or visit thekenton.org.uk