Peter Pan on Ice: The Russian Ice Stars, New Theatre, Oxford (From The Oxford Times)

Peter Pan on Ice: The Russian Ice Stars, New Theatre, Oxford

12:17pm Friday 7th January 2011 in Leisure By David Bellan

The Russian Ice Stars are back with another of their enormously enjoyable productions which combine vigorous storytelling with some virtuoso skating.

Although this is a Russian production, Peter Pan opens appropriately in Kensington Gardens, site of the legendary boy’s statue. Happy skaters spin and jump against a background of the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial. From here we’re off into the well known story, first in the childrens’ bedroom, where Peter comes looking for his shadow, and then literally flying off to their adventures. In Never Land they meet the lost boys - six cheerful ragamuffins, four of whom are actually girls. Then they spend a long sequence among the wigwams of the “Indians”, (sorry – Native Americans), they are captured by Captain Hook and his pirates; and of course we meet Hook’s nemesis, the rather cuddly green Crocodile.

All these threads are cleverly woven together by J.M.Barrie, on stage much of the time in the form of the be-medalled Valdis Mintals – a beautiful skater. Dmitry Naumkin is a likeable Peter, but at a young thirty-three he is very much a man.In the role of a boy who can’t grow up I would have cast one of the slender, athletic girl skaters who played the Boys. Particularly impressive are Katya Murugova as Tinkerbell, and the diminutive Viktoria Shklover as Wendy All this whizzes along with some exciting skating and some really lovely ice dancing too. My favourite sequence – the waltz of the Mermaids.

There are touches of circus too, with the aerial gymnasts Alexander Belokopytov and his wife Alexandra - regular members of this troupe – and there is also juggling with flaming torches and a girl spinning about ten flaming hula-hoops around her bare torso! Unusually, the curtain-calls are one of the highlights of this production, with all the performers on stage, doing their particular speciality at the same time. What fun!

There are further performances until Sunday.