Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time review | Midsumma Festival | Theatre Works

What happens when the boy who doesn’t grow up… grows up? When the twink is no longer a twink? In Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time, Dean Robinson explores what it means when the identity you’ve carefully carved out for yourself begins to shift, beyond your control.

Peter Pan has been blissfully living in Neverland, venturing into the real world only once a decade. But in 2026, something has happened...Peter has aged and lost his twink status. In denial, he tries to cling to it by bleaching his hair, wearing tight, skimpy clothing, and removing all his body hair. There’s also a quest to find a new “fag hag,” featuring two volunteers battling it out in a game-show style challenge that gets the whole audience joining in.

Robinson’s vivacity and commitment to the material are infectious. He delivers several genuinely funny one-liners with some cheeky stage directions that keep the audience engaged, even when the plot wobbles. His energy on stage makes it clear he’s fully invested in the performance, and that spark carries the production through its rougher patches.

Using Peter Pan as a lens for gay identity, aging, and queerness is an interesting choice, and these themes are present in the story, but they are never unpacked in depth. They remain surface-level, without the kind of development that would give them real weight. Robinson also awkwardly raises the controversies around Tiger Lily and the depiction of Native Americans in Peter Pan, along with the story’s racist undertones, only to move on almost immediately. It plays more like a tick-box acknowledgment than a considered exploration, leaving these moments feeling shallow rather than interrogated.

There’s also clever musical numbers in the show, but the Broadway anthem "Turkey Lurkey Time" feels like filler; it's energetic and fun, but lacking a purpose. The ending is also a little confusing, leaving questions about which “tribe” Peter belongs to. It feels underwhelming and lacks impact, giving the finale a surprisingly weak finish after the show’s earlier bursts of energy.

Peter Pan: A Twinkle in Time is a bold, playful, and rough-around-the-edges show. Robinson’s vulnerability and enthusiasm shine through, and there are moments of humour and creativity that stand out. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it hints at a performer worth keeping an eye on.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Theatre Works: Explosive Factory, 67 Inkerman St, St Kilda
Season: until 24 Jan | 8:30pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $38 Full | $32 Conc
Bookings: Midsumma Festival

Image credit: Noam Cohney