Is it ever too early for Christmas chat? ☃️ Not for us! We’re flying high with excitement as we reveal the cast for this year’s festive show, Peter Pan!?

Directed once again by acclaimed UK writer and theatre director Steve Marmion, Cornwall flies to Neverland as local actors Edward Rowe, Ollie McFarlane and Colin Leggo join a skilled set of actors with an array of accomplishments, from stand-up comedy and musical stardom to appearances on the big screen.

“Our mission is all about connecting Cornwall, and what better story than Peter Pan to do that. This is a story we all grew up with, it reminds us of the utter joy of childhood and the thrill of escaping into an adventure that stays with you for a lifetime. We’ve even given a Cornish twist to this much-loved story, so there’s something for everyone on this magical trip to Neverland, whether they’re young or young at heart.” 

– Julien Boast, CEO and Creative Director of Hall for Cornwall

Edward Rowe returns to the Cornwall Playhouse stage after a celebrated run as Long John Silver in last year’s Christmas show, Treasure Island. This year, he plays another fearsome but loveable role as the infamous Captain Hook! Edward is a writer, actor and comedian, performing professionally under the name of Kernow King. Audiences will recognise him from the BAFTA-winning film Bait, Fisherman’s Friends The Musical, and TV roles in Alex Rider, The Witcher, House of the Dragon, Strike and Beyond Paradise. Edward has written, produced and starred in Trevithick!, Hireth, The Cornwall Coliseum, and The Cornish Caretakers, and his recent short Cornish language film, Mab Hudel (Magical Son) was a local favourite. Edward is also a co-writer of BBC Radio 4’s sketch show Wasson Cornwall, where he appears opposite Dawn French.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to the Cornwall Playhouse this Christmas.” He said. “Captain Hook is one of my favourite villains onscreen and of course in literature, so playing him this December is a bit of a dream come true.”

The Hall for Cornwall team looked all over the UK for the lead role of Peter Pan and found him right under their noses. Ollie McFarlane makes his debut at Hall for Cornwall, starring in the lead role of Peter. He grew up in Tanzania in East Africa before moving to the West country in 2010, graduating Falmouth University in 2019. Ollie has worked with a host of Cornish companies and artists including like Kneehigh, Wildworks, Golden Tree, Yskynna, Prodigal UPG, The Arc, Swashbuckling Cornwall, and of course, Hall for Cornwall. Ollie has toured nationally with Companies like Saltmine, Subtext Theatre and Oddments, taking theatre to prisons, council estates, and other disadvantaged communities.

“I’m delighted to see AMATA graduate Ollie McFarlane take a leading role in Hall for Cornwall’s festive production of Peter Pan. As a Falmouth Alum, he is a huge credit to the creative sector in the South West and it’s wonderful to see his career going from strength to strength. I look forward to seeing him sparkle this Christmas.”

– Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Falmouth University Prof. Emma Hunt

Taking up the role of Captain Hook’s right-hand man, Smee is local actor Colin Leggo.

He headlined the 2021 BBC Upload Festival and has performed at Edinburgh Fringe multiple times. ‘Leggoland’, his 2015 one-man with one-leg show about becoming a below knee amputee, received critical acclaim, including a 5-star review from the British Comedy Guide. In 2019, he won the title of UK Pun Champion, and his joke book, Jokes for the Punderdog, reached Amazon’s 2019 list of ‘Top 10 bestselling Joke and Wordplay Books’.

Joining these three Cornish actors are:

• Dan Ball as Mr Darling (The Undeclared War, BBC’s Doc Martin and Beyond Paradise, plus many pantomimes including Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast). Most recently Dan has been filming for new feature film The Salt Path with Gillian Anderson, an adaptation of the best-selling book by Raynor Winn. 
• Kelise Gordon Harrison as Tiger Lily. She graduated from Alra North and Rose Bruford Wigan before making her professional theatre debut in A Midsummer Nights Dream with theatre company Not Too Tame. Since then, she has toured with the Theatre Company Wrongsemble in The Not So Big Bad Wolf as Little Red, and appeared in ITV’s Waco Untold: British Tragedy as Vanessa Henry. 
• Jade Lauren as a self-assured Wendy. Jade performed in Rent at the Shaw Theatre before graduating from the Institute of the Arts Barcelona. She has since worked on a variety of productions across the UK and Spain., including Bill Russell’s revival of ‘Elegies for Angel, Punks and Raging Queens’ at the Kings Head theatre, and Barcelona’s premier of ‘Next to Normal immersive’, directed by Simon Pittman. 
• Sara Markland as a fairy-godmother style Tinker Bell (Casualty, Doctors, Down to Earth and Jonathan Creek). She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School where she won the Chesterton Award for Best Actress. Her theatre credits include productions in the West End, RSC, RNT, Royal Court, in repertory across the country, and touring shows nationally and internationally. Recently, Sara has been concentrating on her voiceover and audio drama career alongside teaching drama and running a community choir. 
• Lucy Park as Mrs Darling. Lucy is an actor, singer and musician born and raised in South Korea, where she worked as a professional singer before moving to London to study acting. She graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts with an MA in Musical Theatre in 2018 and has starred on stage in Play AI, Come From Away (West End), and Tokyo Rose (Southwark Playhouse, UK Tour), to name a few.
• Olivia Warren as Nana (La Maupin, The Unauthorised Breaking Bad Parody Musical, Estella UK Tour, Say my Name!). Olivia is an actor, musician and voiceover artist who trained at Rose Bruford College. Her experience includes an array of musicals, children’s theatre, short films and virtual reality experiences. As a voiceover artist, Olivia has worked with the likes of Netflix, CBBC, Legoland, Audi, and Williams Racing. 

When Sara was offered the role, she said: ‘I am thrilled to be making my return to the stage as Tinker Bell at the Hall for Cornwall this Christmas in a piece and place both dear to my heart.’

You can find out more about Peter Pan and purchase tickets here.

“Peter Pan” is presented by arrangement with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Concord Theatricals Ltd. On behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk.