When the eerie, white-clad puppeteers first appear in Mabou Mines's adaptation of J.M. Barrie's novel, their muslin-veiled faces and Edwardian dresses carry a hint of foreboding. Perhaps the darker recesses of this celebrated story of lost childhood are about to be illuminated.

But as the narrative unfolds in the pop-up book set of the Darlings' nursery, it becomes apparent that adapter, Liza Lorwin, and director, Lee Breuer, have opted for a nostalgic and sentimental treatment, bolstered - if not overwhelmed - by a mawkish "Celtic" score, by Johnny Cunningham. The puppets: Peter Pan, a small mop-haired character with an erratic Scottish accent, the patrician Captain Hook, Nana the dog and the showstealing Crocodile, are manipulated by clusters of puppeteers in a version of the Japanese bunraku style, while the actress Karen Kandel narrates, plays Wendy and provides a versatile range of voices for all the other characters. Shadow puppetry and the inventive use of props such as an ironing board, dolls and enormous books provide the rest of the imagery.

As an exercise in ventriloquism, it's impressive; as theatre, it falls between a number of forms. The puppetry lacks the discipline and precision required to allow us to be fully beguiled by the puppets. The puppeteers are neither fully present nor fully effaced on stage: this attempt to show us both the theatrical effects and how they are achieved undermines the sense of magic that the production strives so hard to create. But cloying adult sentiment about childhood is no substitute for the untrammelled childhood fantasy to which theatre offers us access, and the constant narration by Karen Kandel prevents the action from soaring into the realm of the imagination. Instead we are watching a winsomely illustrated soundtrack, which, at two-anda-half hours, is definitely an LP.

Runs until Saturday. To book phone 1800-224228