Jordan has travelled a long way to be with us here tonight watching Peter Pan at the Opera House. All the way from Melbourne, Australia in fact.
But maybe he wishes he hadn't bothered. Within minutes of the panto staring he's singled out by Jason Manford, splendidly decked out as Captain Hook in a flowing purple and silver tunic, for being 'too cool to boo'.
And it doesn't stop there - once he's on the hook Manford and co-star Ben Nickless don't let him off easily. But to be fair Jordan takes the playful ribbing with good grace, at one point even taking the spotlight in his front row seat to demonstrate his 'evil laugh' to the packed out crowd.
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The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan is a loose reworking of the classic tale, but this time Peter and Hook join forces to find the lost pixie dust that's the source of Neverland’s magic. There's slapstick, water pistols and a genuinely impressive giant animatronic crocodile head that looms out into the crowd just before the interval.
There's also a dig at a hen party from Rochdale, some nice song and dance numbers and k*** gags galore. Manford takes top billing alongside Britain's Got Talent finalist Nickless as Smee, with the pair ably supported by Jessica Croll (Wendy), Samara Casteallo (Tink) and Ross Carpenter (Peter Pan).
There's a nice rapport between the two Greater Manchester comics, shown at its best when they join forces to perform an extended Elvis skit.
'I know what’s coming' our 10-year-old whispers to me, but that doesn't stop her and the rest of the audience laughing their heads off when the gag finally lands. As we walk back to the car an hour later she's still repeating the punchline and giggling to herself.
And Manford also gets plenty of other opportunities to display the vocal chops he revealed on the first series of the Masked Singer, especially during a note perfect rendition of Cry Me A River (the jazz standard, not the Justin Timberlake hit).
But there's also the odd bum note. I know it's a panto, but the steady stream of innuendo eventually gets a bit tiresome.
Towards the end there's a pun about Woody and Buzz from Toy Story that even Manford and Nickless seem to wince at. But maybe that's just me being an old prude.
Camp, smutty and laugh out loud funny, Peter Pan ticks all the right boxes.
Peter Pan is on at Manchester Opera House until December 31.
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