Review: Mansfield panto Further Adventures of Peter Pan will have you Hook-ed

The Further Adventures of Peter Pan, the Return of Captain Hook boasts, not only the longest title in all of panto-land, but also all the traditions families have to come to expect and love at panto-time.

Not a traditional panto tale, instead it is a follow-up to the tale of Peter Pan, which was one of the Palace Theatre’s biggest panto hits when it took to the Mansfield stage six years ago.

Time has moved on about 90 years, with Wendy Darling is now more than 100, although being Neverland, Pan, Tinker Bell, Hook and Smee, now captain of the Jolly Roger after Hook was made to walk the plank, have barely aged at all – about six years in the case of Hook, Smee and Tinker Bell as Marc Baylis, Adam Moss and Holly Atterton all reprise their roles from 2016.

When Tinker Bell learns Hook is back from the icy depths, she enlists the help of Wendy’s great, great granddaughter, the social media-obsessed Emily – played by Jenny Huxley-Golden, surely a star of the future – to convince Pan to be ready.

Nickoledoen star Atterton brings an infectious energy to the role of Tink, all the while on roller skates, and is the star of the first half.

She is sadly under-used in the second half, but this gives time for Hook, Smee, Pan and the wonderful Ethel Mermaid, ably played by former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jane Buckley, to take the spotlight, Baylis is a superb Hook, striking the perfect balance between evil villain and comedy baddie – his performance of a re-written You Will Be Back, from smash-hit musical Hamilton, will live long in the memory.

Comedy star Moss, as usual, is the glue which holds the whole show together as he returns to the Palace stage yet again – the 40-year-old is now a married father-of-two, after proposing to his then-girlfriend Karen during Peter Pan’s run in 2016, but has lost none of his comedy flair.

Dad jokes, silly antics and great songs are in abundance throughout as Hook stages a mutiny against Smee to retake captaincy of his ship, before taking Tinker Bell and her little fairy friends prisoner as he bids to capture Pan, played by newcomer Connor Keetley.

There are plenty of jokes about Mansfield, a heavily-disguised TikTok croc and so much more to delight young and old theatre-goers, with the comedy acrobatics of the Nitwits pirate crew a particular highlight.

Another Mansfield Palace panto hit.

The Further Adventures of Peter Pan, the Return of Captain Hook, continues until December 31. See mansfieldpalace.co.uk