'Do you know who I am?" asks Peter Pan as he first flies in through the children's bedroom window. "A girl," came the unequivocal reply from the row behind me at the Northampton Derngate. But Sophie Lawrence's sunny, sassy performance (she also directs this production) soon satisfied my know-it-all neighbour as Peter spirited the Darling children away to Neverland.

Once there, the children are captured by Captain Hook and his pirate gang. The Captain himself comes in the genial form of David Essex (pictured, with Peter), who coasts pretty mildly through the proceedings: his worst form of abuse, frequently uttered, is "Shut up". For those who like his singing, he does render a number or two, albeit to a taped backing track.

But, to be fair, Captain Hook does have a problem in being really fierce, for his ultimate means of punishment is not available. Unrolling a vast parchment scroll, first mate Smee points out that regulations are being flouted: Hook cannot make the children walk the plank, to be devoured by a crocodile salivating below, because a Health and Safety Risk Assessment has not been carried out.

Fogwell Flax, as Smee, is the comic turn in this production. He interleaves the storyline with a number of solo spots, which could become irritating if he wasn't so good at it. There's a particularly splendid routine involving the sawing of a plank of wood, and Flax is excellent at the usually excruciating procedure of summoning a few tots on stage to be interviewed. He turns a good joke too: informed at one point that his coat is on fire, he replies, quick as a flash: "Don't worry, it's a blazer."

Among a strong supporting cast, Penni Tovey stands out as a rough-edged, roller skating Tinkerbell, in a production that includes plenty of spirited sword fighting, and lots of knockabout fun - the rock throwing competition has to be seen to be believed.

Peter Pan continues at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, until January 13. Tickets: 01604 624811 (www.royalandderngate.co.uk).