STAGE ‘65’s hugely entertaining production of Peter Pan proved perfect escapism as the 50-strong cast imaginatively recreated the familiar characters from J M Barrie’s classic play.

Playhouse youth theatre director Victoria Briggs and designer Karen McKeown made excellent use of the main house stage, with some beautifully choreographed scenes involving every bit of available space.

No mean feat with such a large and youthful cast. How to make the Darling children fly? Quite simply in a lovely dreamlike sequence, seamlessly incorporating Ben Occhipinti’s atmospheric music that was really quite beautiful to watch.

Indians, pirates, mermaids and just the right sprinkling of magic inhabit stage ‘65’s Never Land.

Joe Rose played Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up, with a lovely mix of boyish wisdom and naivety. As The Lost Boys wait anxiously for his return with more stories from the Darling household, their camaraderie and affection is obvious. Craig Phelps played Peter Pan’s nemesis, Captain Hook, as a larger than life bully, cut to size by the quite amazing tick-tocking human crocodile.

Jack Pike’s adorable St Bernard dog, Nana, nearly stole the show in the Darling household scenes, but Runa May Osman was a confidently assured Wendy, who managed to portray her growing love for Peter Pan without resorting to sentimentality.

And the two Darling brothers, John and Michael (Simon Jagoe and Oliver Hopkins) were equally assured.

But who could forget Ella Dunlop’s wonderfully impish yet jealous Tinkerbell? She was a delight to watch.

When Tinkerbell drinks the poison and Peter Pan asks the audience: “Do you believe in fairies?”, it would have taken a hard heart not to offer enthusiastic response.

Well done to all involved in producing Peter Pan. What better way than to celebrate the youth theatre company’s 45th anniversary year?