Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz: Peter Pan

Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich
May 24, 2025

With the auditorium filled with the excited chatter of the large number of youngsters in the audience, the Gärtnerplatz was ready for the revival of Emanuele Soavi’s Peter Pan, originally premiered in 2016. It is a story full of fantasy, one where reality, dream and illusion come together. And all the familiar characters are there, but it is also a telling of the story that comes with one or two surprises.

J.M. Barrie’s book is largely populated by children, of course. The only adults are the Darling parents and the pirates. While grown-ups playing children almost always brings issues, here, it does work well. That’s almost certainly primarily down to the fact that, if everyone is doing so, you simply don’t notice it; and it is quite a while before any adult characters appear. But the choreography also plays its part, as do the dancers themselves, who invest themselves fully in the characters. You do actually believe they are youngsters.

When it comes to any stage version of Peter Pan, one of the difficulties is that most of action everyone wants to see is in Neverland. Before we get there, Soavi gives us fifty minutes in the children’s bedroom, however. Using a mix of classical ballet and contemporary movement, he certainly sets things up well for everything that follows, and it’s not without its moments, but it does try the patience. You do feel like you just want them to get on with it, fly out of that window, and start the adventure proper.

You don’t want a way longer second act, thus unbalancing the ballet, so perhaps having three shorter acts, the first in the bedroom, then two in Neverland, would have worked better. But that would extend the evening, of course.

The ballet is full of excellent imagery. Set designers Karl Fehringer and Judith Leikauf leave us in no doubt we are in the bedroom right at the top of a middle-class London house, even though just using three wallpapered flats as walls, one with the all-important window, one with a door. When that window creaks ominously at the very beginning and leaves blow in, we know magic is in the air.

The way Peter and Tinkerbell fly in using aerial hoops is clever, although like one or two other moments is a little undercooked. There’s a pleasing dance for a small ensemble of shadows (Peter was looking for his, of course), one of the few moments when Soavi puts dance ahead of storytelling.

Ethan Ribeiro brought all the requisite mischievousness, playfulness and wit to Peter, although the character doesn’t stand out quite as much as you feel maybe he should.

The agile and hyper-energetic Jana Baldovino had great fun with Tinkerbell, characterising her as flighty and skittish, but also just a little bit feisty when things do not appear to be going as she likes. She certainly appears to have a bit of an issue with Wendy’s infatuation with Peter, although it’s not returned, both as found in the book. Is there just a bit of jealousy there, you wonder.

Just as children do, the Darling brood find the appearance of Peter, Tinkerbell and shadows is completely accepted. For them, the meeting of reality and dream/fantasy appears quite normal, and certainly more than handleable.

The highlight of Act One, certainly for the youngsters watching, is undoubtedly a terrific pillow fight, though, which only ends when Mrs. Darling walks in. But while she may appear very proper, she clearly has a soft spot for her offspring. Mr. Darling is cooler. You sense stricter. It’s no surprise when David Valencia pops up later as the dastardly Captain Hook.

The transition to Neverland is done rather well, with more use of hoops by Peter and his fellow travellers. But what’s this? Forget the usual lush, green tropical islands of most film adaptations. Instead, giving free rein to their imaginations, Soavi, Fehringer and Leikauf present a grey, indoor, industrial setting, all scaffolding and what looks like abandoned machinery.

There’s another shock not far away too. It seems Tinkerbell has not got over Wendy’s feelings for Peter after all, even if he shows no interest. As the Darling’s oldest daughter flies in on another hoop, she whips out a pistol and shoots her. Cue a sharp intake of breath as a dummy hits the floor with a very loud thud. And boy did Baldovino’s Tinkerbell look very pleased with herself. But worry not. Neverland is a place where anything can happen, and anyone can be magicked back to life.

Neverland may have been updated, but Captain Hook and his loyal sidekick Smee tick all the boxes. Valencia’s Hook still comes with big pirate hat and hook, and is just as darstardly as you expect, wasting little time in whipping off the head of Michael Darling’s teddy. Joel Distefano mines the just-a-little incompetent Smee for every ounce of character. His near strangling of himself with a snake brings a lovely moment of humour.

The dance for the pirate crew is of the street, the choreography having a hint of martial arts about it, the fabulous dynamism of capoeira in particular, and the occasional moment of hip-hop. Their battle with the children, done without weapons, is a delight, especially the Tinkerbell-Smee encounter. For a quite a while, it seems the biggest mismatch ever but Smee does eventually overcome, it requiring some audience magic to resuscitate his spirited opponent.

The crocodile is terrific. It’s a four-piece puppet, with different dancers manipulating its head and very, very giant mouth, its two midsections and feet, and long tail. It’s a real disappointment that we see so little of it, though, and that it doesn’t dance.

Han Otten’s score is as kaleidoscopic as the story. At times melodic, at times full of menacing electronic sounds, it supports the rhythm and structure of the ballet well. It doesn’t come with too many hummable tunes, though, being at its catchy best for the circle dances of both the Indians and the pirates.

We all know how it ends, and we all sigh contentedly. The Gärtnerplatz’s Peter Pan does not tax, does not demand. But sometimes it’s nice to let one’s inner child loose for a couple of hours. And yes, I did walk out smiling.