In each issue of D&T we bring you a page-to-stage focus on a play for performance with your students, written by someone who has directed it themselves. Here, Donna Steele considers JM Barrie's much-reimagined classic Peter Pan
‘All children, except one, grow up,’ and, when staging a production of Peter Pan, you are guaranteed to engage your inner child. JM Barrie wrote the iconic story in 1911. After university, he moved to London where he lived behind Great Ormond Street Hospital. During that time, he was a great supporter of their work and he donated the rights to Peter Pan to the hospital. This gift continues today – Great Ormond Street has honoured Barrie's wishes to never disclose the amount raised from these royalties.
Plot points
The story of Peter Pan requires little explanation; it has, however, evolved over time through adaptation and there are various versions to choose from. Most scripts follow the original story of a free-spirited and mischievous young boy who spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on a mythical island. Ella Hickson's 2013 version Wendy and Peter positions Wendy as the main protagonist and introduces a fourth Darling child, Tom – along with some darker themes.
Character roles
This production is ideal in catering for mixed casts who have a range of experiences in performing. The larger roles within the production include Peter, Wendy, Michael, John, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook, which offer substantial parts for pupils to play. On the surface these characters may appear two-dimensional but with a bit of digging it is possible to find their depths. The minor character roles are Mr and Mrs Darling, Smee and Hook's Pirates, with small character roles as Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys. Ensemble roles can be found as additional lost boys and also mermaids. While there are pantomime versions of this script, I think it is best that these characters are played with a believability and sense of truth to them to really grab your audience.
Themes to explore
- Eternal youth – a main theme in the story is the conflict between wanting to stay a child but knowing you have to become an adult. I think approaching the staging in a really playful way helps to communicate this theme. I also added some verbatim accounts of childhood for the audience to listen to as they arrived to really exaggerate this concept.
- Motherhood – Mrs Darling and Wendy are presented as maternal figures and we see Peter as a motherless figure. Peter is drawn towards these maternal figures through the story. Having Wendy mirror the mannerisms of Mrs Darling as she interacts with Peter is a good way to demonstrate this theme.
- Adventure – more than anything Peter desires adventure. The energy of the performance should drive the story forwards.
- Belief – the story is filled with instances of magic and harnessing what adults believe is impossible. Getting your audience to buy into the death of Tinkerbell is a great starting point for addressing this theme.
Creating magic
This is a magical story with stage directions that defy the probable. Having staged this production a few years ago I can highly recommend keeping your approach fun and simple. Many of us don't have access to large budgets, so here are some the creative conundrums the production poses and some suggested solutions.
Flying
Peter, Wendy, John and Michael all fly during the production. There are many ways you could tackle this. I used physical theatre lifts to achieve this however you could have the actors standing up on platform leaning with arms out stretched and an ensemble moving around them with clouds. You could also use cardboard to move the air around the actors to give the impression of movement.
Mermaids
I created the mermaid lagoon using big lengths of blue satin stretched across the stage at different heights. I made the tails of the mermaids like flags that were then waved in arcs over the actors heads and added in some bubbles via bubble guns.
Peter's shadow
Early on in the story we see Wendy helping Peter to sew his shadow back on. I used a pupil in a black morph suit to act as Peter's shadow mirroring his movements. If you use lifts to make the characters fly, the shadow can play a part in this too.
Tinkerbell
The first appearance of Tinkerbell is as a light that flits across the stage, accompanied by the sound of a bell. It is a simple yet effective thing to achieve through the use of finger lights operated by an ensemble cast. You can create the impression of the light being ‘thrown,’ across the stage, which works really well to show her movement.