THE show must go on is any self respecting theatre troupe’s rallying cry.

But where do you draw the line? Do you go against theatrical tradition and interrupt a show plagued with technical difficulties or do you just plod along regardless of health, safety and frankly the suspension of disbelief? Peter Pan Goes Wrong tests this ‘show must go on’ theory to its ultimate limits.

The play centres around The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, an amateur theatre group of the die-hard school of professionalism gone bananas as it puts on a ‘Christmas vignette’ of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan (in June due to a scheduling hiccup).

Undeterred by a sandbag dropping from the heavens and narrowly missing Mrs Darling within two minutes of curtain rising, they happily carry on ignoring the multifarious technical faults, calamitous scene changes and general mayhem that ensues.

The list of mishaps goes on and on. There are severe injuries, a cast member crushed by flimsy papier-mâché scenery, not to mention a hapless flying operator with an aggravating tendency to let go of the rope mid flight.

Aside from Spiderman the Musical it appears no other production in history has been blighted by such relentless avalanche of disaster.

This, of course could be almost swept under the carpet, did the amateur group possess a glimmer of talent to carry the production through- which to the audience’s delight they do not.

While Wendy (Leonie Hill) seems unable to recite one line without launching into a grand jeté, or some other gauche ballet step, Michael (Cornelius Booth), who has had to be replaced at the eleventh hour by the middle-aged assistant director, is more similar in build and pilosity to Santa Claus than a five-year-old boy.

As for Peter Pan (Alex Bartram), he has been blessed with an oversized ego but little to show for it. Tinker Bell (Naomi Sheldon) aka Mrs Darling aka the maid aka Tiger Lily is too busy between costume changes to do very much and Hook (Laurence Pears) experiences a nervous breakdown haranguing the audience in the process.

Farcical to the extreme, the onslaught of side-splitting slapstick is a marvel to watch. I found myself laughing so hysterically as Hook went into meltdown that tears rolled down my cheeks.

As the chaos escalates you only pray for more electrical faults to trip up the cast and then voila more precisely-timed and unfortunate accidents occur.

Hilarious, cleverly plotted and perfectly choreographed Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a comedic triumph.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong runs at the Wyvern Theatre until Saturday, June 13.