Review: Peter Pan by All Souls Dramatic Club at the Atkinson, Southport, 15th January – 25th January 2026
As Southport launches into its most cultural ever year with a host of exciting new events and festivals, it seems fitting to start it in style with a fantastic community-based production – Peter Pan, by All Souls Dramatic Club, at The Atkinson in Southport.
While the world’s eyes will be on our town this year, Southport’s heart is very much made up of culture and huge artistic talent.
Millions of people will visit Southport in 2026 for memorable experiences – it’s a place that makes people smile.
There’s no time for January blues when you’re in Southport, when families have superb shows like this to enjoy.
We booked tickets for Saturday night with seven members of our family joining another packed-out audience in The Atkinson Theatre.
Peter pan has seen several shows sold-out already, with tickets for remaining performances available here: ASDC Peter Pan – The Atkinson
All Souls Dramatic Club has performers who don’t know how to tread the boards – they float over them.
The tech team (the unsung heroes) ensured that Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell all flew gracefully high above the stage, adding to the spectacle.
Peter Pan is described as “a love letter to childhood”.
It celebrates childhood where wonder, imagination, dance and joy are precious things to be protected.
It’s where Peter Pan and The Lost Boy are children who don’t want to grow up – performing to an audience where parents and grandparents face conflicting feelings of wanting their youngsters to enjoy childhood for as long as possible.
Peter Pan reminds us that the real adventure isn’t escaping to Neverland — it’s carrying its magic, compassion, and courage into everyday life.
J.M. Barrie’s original tale is one of joy, of wonder; of friendship, and community; of mistaking mistakes, and redemption; and of Captain Cook’s fiancee with her ticking clock (ok, it was a crocodile in the book, but All Souls has always been inventive when it comes to story-telling!)
When Wendy (Kayleigh Ginley) arrives in Neverland and strikes up a relationship with Peter (Alex McKillop), poor loyal fairy Tinkerbell (Amelia Moran) feels shunned.
After betraying Peter and the Lost Boys to Captain Hook (Alan Casserley), she makes the tragic Southport mistake of heading out for shots with Hayley Jones (Smee) – something that always ends in disaster.
Or she may have swallowed a poisonous potion.
The effects were the same.
She is soon revived by Peter, Wendy and the Lost Boys who triumph in a final battle with Captain Hook and his pirates, who flee after Hook’s fiancee / Croc (Heather Gomersall) snaps into action.
The show is funny, it’s inventive, it’s original and it’s bursting within a talented cast.
It’s very well-written by Cliff Gillies, superbly choreographed by Ben Musa – who was invited onto stage for a well-deserved bow – and well-supported by musical director Chris Rimmer and his musicians who performed at the back of the stage, plus Production Manager Matt Hughes.
There were some superb numbers inspired from other musicals, with a show-stopping One Day More from Les Miserables a stunning end to the first half, and When I Grow Up from Matilda sung a real wow factor sung by some very young performers, Grace Hudson, and Thea Shawcroft.
This is a really fun, enjoyable, get-up-and-dance night out, with some thoughtful messages to take in too.
As ever, the All Souls cast crackles with immensely talented performers across the stage.
The trio of Peter Pan (Alex McKillop), Wendy (Kayleigh Ginley) and Tinkerbell (Amelia Moran) were charismatic leads with some excellent songs, acting and dancing.
The pirates – Captain Hook (Alan Casserley), Smee (Hayley Jones), Calvin (Jen Johnson) and Klein (Joanne Wasilew) brought boos and laughter in equal measure, with further slapstick from panto dame Sally Staines (Cliff Gillies), Big Chief / Mr Darling (Chris Gerring), and the girl power trio of Tigerlilly (Phoebe Hill), Shy-Ann (Kelly Anderson) and Sioux (Summer Molyneux).
Also impressing were the likes of Michael Darling (Isabelle Culshaw), John Darling (Darren Musa), Garmin (John King), Tom Tom (Katie Palfrey), Dav (Megan Price Mawdsley), JB (Tom Avann), Mrs Darling (Tracey Holes-Smith), Grandma and Grandad (Sue and John Hardiker), plus So Talented Dancers Lily-Grace Faulkner, Pearle Johnson, Bryony Jones, Niamh Tolson, Grace Hudson, and Thea Shawcroft and dancers Elodie Rollins, Chloe Judd, Beth Fenny, Lauren Brown, Sophie Watkinson and Sophie Horne.
As J.M. Barrie wrote: “It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness.”
All Souls Dramatic Club is a long-established group – they come across more of a family – with a very talented group of people who love what they do, both on the stage and behind it.
Peter Pan is a great way of joining their annual January party.
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