Review Round-Up: WENDY AND PETER PAN at Barbican

Directed by Jonathan Munby, Ella Hickson’s bold new imagining of J M Barrie’s classic and beloved novel, Peter Pan, puts heroine Wendy Darling at the forefront of the action. Clever, imaginative, and afraid of growing up, Wendy journeys to Neverland with John and Michael to find their lost brother Tom. There, she faces off against the formidable Captain Hook, teaming up with capricious fairy Tinkerbell, fearless princess Tiger Lily, and of course, the tricksy and mercurial Peter Pan himself. This darkly witty retelling stars Lolita Chakrabarti, Daniel Krikler, Charlotte Mills, Hannah Saxby and RSC Associate Artist Toby Stephens.

What are critics saying about Wendy & Peter Pan?

The Evening Standard

‘Heavy stuff but lightly done’

★★★★

For Nick Curtis, this ‘rollicking adaptation honours the adventure and enchantment’ of the original ‘while also exploring its psychological depths’. He was full of praise for the cast: ‘Daniel Krikler as a feral, sybaritic Peter Pan, Hannah Saxby as a physically gung-ho, jolly-super Wendy Darling, and Toby Stephens as a winningly louche Captain Hook.’ He did note ‘the flab and faff that creeps in at the edges of Hickson’s script’ makes the play a touch too long. He found it sharp and funny ‘when skewering male privilege’, but criticised the ‘jarring modern clangers in the script’. He praised Colin Richmond’s ‘detailed delight’ of a set and thought ‘the choreography, combat and aerial scenes are beautifully done.’ His verdict: ‘On balance, magic.’

Read the review here.

WhatsOnStage

‘Things feel suitably magical’

★★★★

Lucinda Everett was delighted with Ella Hickson’s decision to put Wendy at the forefront as the story’s driving heroine. She was full of praise for the cast, writing that Toby Stephens is ‘on deliciously boo-hiss form’, while Charlotte Mills, who plays Tinkerbell, ‘dispenses liberal doses of snark with her fairy dust.’ ‘Hickson’s script is keenly observed,’ she wrote, while ‘Hannah Saxby gives a startlingly physical performance as Wendy.’ But it’s not all serious: ‘Hickson’s script is stuffed with laughs, and Jonathan Munby’s exuberant direction ramps up the fun.’ She enjoyed the play’s sense of spectacle as well, from ‘boisterous pirate fights’ to ‘a staggering set from Colin Richmong’ to ‘Taiki Ueda’s whimsical projections and Shuhei Kamimura’s filmic score’.

Read the review here.

The cast of Wendy and Peter Pan. Photo by Manuel Harlan

London Box Office

'Reflects the child fantasy themes inherent in the piece'

★★★

Stuart King noted that Ella Hickson’s retelling of the familiar story ‘attempts to connect with younger adult audiences’ by exploring Wendy’s struggle between traditional femininity and freedom, but overall ‘falls short of delivering anything close to a feminist revision’. He found the fight scenes boisterous but lacking the ‘stagecraft that one would expect from the RSC’, while ‘some scenes are severely hampered by an awkward base design which fights against the overlayed video projections.’

Read the review here.

TimeOut

‘Great fun, if a little clunky’

★★★

Tom Wicker’s main gripe with the play is that ‘some clunky characterisation and awkward modernisation mean that it never truly soars.’ He was full of praise, however, for Colin Richmond’s set design, calling it ‘visually sumptuous’ and ‘a playbox spilled delightfully across the stage’. He found the play’s feminist update ‘refreshing’, but found the excessive anachronistic references ‘just a bit cringe, as if the writing can’t trust its own modern thematic undercurrents.’ Despite his gripes, he felt ‘there’s still fun to be had along the way.’

Read the review here.

The Times

‘This handsome spectacle had too many tweaks and distractions’

★★★

Clive Davis was skeptical about whether this ‘feminist fairytale’ would appeal to children as much as it might to adults. Like Wicker, he appreciated Hickson’s choice to have Wendy reject motherhood, and praised Hannah Saxby’s delivery of Wendy’s stunts and fight scenes: ‘The moment at the end when she learns to take flight and glide through the air is genuinely moving.’ But he was disappointed with the ‘nattily dressed crocodile’, calling it ‘the least scary denizen of the depths that you’ll ever encounter’, and felt Toby Stephens’ Hook lacked ‘the panache and old-school venom we’ve come to associate with the role.’ He praised Colin Richmond’s set design as ‘a definite asset’ but found Shuhei Kamimura’s music ‘generic’.

Read the review here.

The cast of Wendy and Peter Pan. Photo by Manuel Harlan

The Independent

‘Bleak and beautiful’

★★★

Alice Seville agreed that the production is ‘more suited to misty-eyed adults than actual kids.’ She found the play ‘strikingly bleak’, filled with ‘grief-soaked meditations on morality’, and called it ‘a fascinating, feminist riff on a classic.’ Although it’s ‘an intelligent, contemporary way of refocusing this story’, Seville found the play’s ‘punchier second half’ to be ‘a welcome relief’, filled with ‘swashbuckling sword fights and dastardly pirates’. She praised Toby Stephens’ performance as Captain Hook, which brings ‘all the cut-glass accented, camp villainy you could hope for.’ She concluded that the production offers ‘plenty to intrigue its audiences’, but lacks ‘that soaring sense of wonder that’s made Peter Pan immortal.’

Read the review here.

The Stage

‘Ella Hickson’s feminist reworking of Peter Pan still glitters with fairy magic’

★★★

Holly O’Mahony felt that the production doesn’t feel as radical in 2025 as it did when it was first staged, but still found ‘plenty of charm to this revival.’ She called the show ‘slickly staged’ and ‘visually spectacular’, praising Richmond’s detailed set in particular, as well as Taiki Ueda’s video projections and Lucy Hind’s choreography in bringing Peter’s shadow to life. She had a soft spot for the play’s interpretations of Captain Hook and Mr Smee, calling both ‘entertaining’, and found Harrison Claxton’s Crocodile to be ‘amply chilling’.

Read the review here.

Peter Pan is one of the most beloved children's books of all time, so it's no surprise that it's spawned a dizzying range of stage adaptations that seek to capture the wonder and magic of the original story while offering a new take on it for modern audiences. Interested in seeing more theatre that's inspired by popular and best-selling books? Check out our list of Book to Stage Adaptations to Watch in London This Year.