FANTASY RIDE: A still from The Peter Pan show.
By Anand Holla
. now Peter Pan – The Never Ending Story is all set to enthrall the city.
Featuring an international cast of acrobats, dancers, stuntmen and magicians, the live spectacular adventure will play out at Hall 6 of Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) on October 4 at 5pm.
An iconic character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J M Barrie, Peter Pan is a mischievous boy who can fly and who never grows up. Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang, the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Indians, fairies, pirates, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside of Neverland.
The tickets are priced from QR195 (Regular) to QR2,000 (Royal). The high-flying show, presented by Elegancia Events & Entertainment and Music Hall, is particularly suitable for families with children aged 4-15 years.
Designed for arenas across the world, the story has been created by the leading Belgium producer Geert Allaert and the creative team at Music Hall who have developed, translated and animated J M Barries’ original story using the latest state-of-the-art digital imaging.
The organisers say, “The show is directed by the Belgium director Luc Petit who for the past 10 years has assisted Cirque du Soleil’s director Franco Dragone. The original score and the specially arranged familiar classic songs are by the British Grammy award-winning musical director Matt Dunkley — most famous for his work on Moulin Rouge, Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Swan. The set and costumes are by the late Belgium designer Kaat Tilley who sadly died just before the show launched.”
The organisers add, “The songs from the world of pop, film, opera and classical music include hits from Madness (Our House), Robbie Williams (Angels), Rod Stewart (Sailing), Puccini (Nessun Dorma), Gilbert & Sullivan (Pirates of Penzance) and from Moulin Rouge (Someday I’ll Fly Away). This hi-tech fantasy adventure which combines all the drama and excitement of live theatre with exciting visuals, was hugely successful in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK (Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester, London, Glasgow and Newcastle).”
The story starts with Peter Pan’s flying visit. As the Darling children lie in bed, Peter Pan flies in to watch them sleep. His presence disturbs the family dog, alerting Mrs Darling. Fearing discovery Peter flees, but leaves his shadow behind in the commotion. After returning to the Darling house to retrieve his shadow, Peter wakes Wendy, Michael and John and persuades them to join him on a magical flight to the heart of Neverland.
Peter, Wendy, Michael and John journey to Neverland island … where the Lost Boys, Indians, mermaids and pirates await them in a series of adventures beyond their wildest imaginations. Catch the show to know how the story moves forward. It was in The Little White Bird, a novel written by J M Barrie for adults in 1902 that Peter Pan originally debuted as an infant.
