Bucks &amp; Oxon

<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81175" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Hook-John-Michie-Mrs-Smee-La-Voix-Smee-Andy-Collins-embrace.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="983" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Hook-John-Michie-Mrs-Smee-La-Voix-Smee-Andy-Collins-embrace.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Hook-John-Michie-Mrs-Smee-La-Voix-Smee-Andy-Collins-embrace-150x147.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Hook-John-Michie-Mrs-Smee-La-Voix-Smee-Andy-Collins-embrace-300x295.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Hook-John-Michie-Mrs-Smee-La-Voix-Smee-Andy-Collins-embrace-509x500.jpg 509w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
You&#8217;d perhaps expect me to be slightly jaded from my third panto outing of the season (oh no you wouldn&#8217;t! &#8211; OK, I&#8217;ll get my coat). But I&#8217;m back from <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/peter-pan/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peter Pan</a> at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre highly tickled by a slick, funny show that I think is the best they&#8217;ve put on since I started reviewing back in the Victorian era.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81171" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Darlings-and-Peter-Pan-flying.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="896" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Darlings-and-Peter-Pan-flying.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Darlings-and-Peter-Pan-flying-150x134.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Darlings-and-Peter-Pan-flying-300x269.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Darlings-and-Peter-Pan-flying-558x500.jpg 558w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
The pairing of Andy Collins (local celeb, &#8216;warm up guy&#8217; for X-Factor and BBC radio presenter) and La Voix (formerly BGT with excellent singing/comedy chops) is a comfy one &#8211; they&#8217;ve worked together on the Aylesbury panto for the last three years and it must give some reassurance to the celebs who join them and also to the audience, who feel like they&#8217;re in safe hands.
This year&#8217;s big name draw was John Michie, of Holby and Corrie fame, and former Muddy crush &#8211; the womanising, hard-drinking brain Holby City surgeon Guy Self was surely meant to be crushed like a walnut between my thighs!
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81179" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/John-Michie-as-Hook-4.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="819" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/John-Michie-as-Hook-4.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/John-Michie-as-Hook-4-150x123.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/John-Michie-as-Hook-4-300x246.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/John-Michie-as-Hook-4-611x500.jpg 611w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
Michie donned Captain Hook&#8217;s wig and scarlet coat, and he clearly had the time of his life on the stage, hamming it up, playing for laughs, delivering his lines with relish. We&#8217;ll let him off the so-so singing &#8211; you can&#8217;t be good at everything, right?
The first thing to say about this performance is that its a real pro operation, with a relatively large cast (including lots of children as you&#8217;d expect with Lost Boys and the Darling kids involved), live orchestra, a lot of high-wiring and pyrotechnics and no expense spared on La Voix&#8217;s costumes &#8211; can&#8217;t lie, I&#8217;m kind of hankering after the sequin mermaid dress.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81181" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/La-Voix-and-mermaids.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="758" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/La-Voix-and-mermaids.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/La-Voix-and-mermaids-150x114.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/La-Voix-and-mermaids-300x227.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/La-Voix-and-mermaids-660x500.jpg 660w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
Panto rehearsals are never more than a couple of weeks max but the cast were really well drilled, and apart from a forgotten line from La Voix (expertly joked about in the following scene) it was pretty flawless.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81185" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Smee-Pirate-and-Mrs-Smee-12-Days-of-Christmas.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="682" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Smee-Pirate-and-Mrs-Smee-12-Days-of-Christmas.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Smee-Pirate-and-Mrs-Smee-12-Days-of-Christmas-150x102.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Smee-Pirate-and-Mrs-Smee-12-Days-of-Christmas-300x205.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Smee-Pirate-and-Mrs-Smee-12-Days-of-Christmas-720x491.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
The now infamous 12 Days of Christmas routine  with the &#8216;bra that was made to fit three&#8217;  (above) where Andy Collins, La Voix and others throw pots and pans around the stage and chase plastic loo rolls around the auditorium, is still my children&#8217;s favourite bit of the show. Well, that and the bit when the waterpistols come out, Andy Collins picks out various kids to deluge, and everyone gets soaking wet.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81170" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Andy-Collins-waterpistol.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Andy-Collins-waterpistol.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Andy-Collins-waterpistol-100x150.jpg 100w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Andy-Collins-waterpistol-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Andy-Collins-waterpistol-333x500.jpg 333w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
It was all perfectly silly fun, and there was a merciful absence of anything too X-Factorish about the night &#8211; it really was traditional panto in the best sense of the world.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81186" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Tiger-Lily-ensemble.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="681" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Tiger-Lily-ensemble.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Tiger-Lily-ensemble-150x102.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Tiger-Lily-ensemble-300x204.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Tiger-Lily-ensemble-720x490.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
Special mention to Natalie Hollingworth as Tiger Lily, who had the best tonsils of the supporting cast, and also Nickelodeon&#8217;s Holly Atterton as Tinker Bell who spent her entire night in roller skates and managed to wring some real emotion out of her solo number.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81174" src="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Holly-Atterton-as-Tinkerbell.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1491" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Holly-Atterton-as-Tinkerbell.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Holly-Atterton-as-Tinkerbell-101x150.jpg 101w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Holly-Atterton-as-Tinkerbell-201x300.jpg 201w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Holly-Atterton-as-Tinkerbell-335x500.jpg 335w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" />
Jessica Punch, who played Peter Pan, gave it everything too though my only quibble of the night &#8211; allow me just one! &#8211; is that her voice in duet with Wendy&#8217;s was too &#8216;close&#8217;, and I think I would have preferred a male Peter for that reason. But I couldn&#8217;t fault her performance in itself.
Nothing else to say at this point but go, go, go &#8211; it&#8217;s a strong contender for this year&#8217;s best panto.
<a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/peter-pan/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Book tickets</a>

Practically perfect Peter Pan

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