The Open Air Theatre has been building a near magical reputation for itself over the years and 2015 should see it build on that significantly with the addition of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan to its summer roster. It may well be a story that we all know and love already, but based on some of the recent productions at the Regent’s Park theatre, we’re expecting it to be a very fresh and new take on the classic children’s story of the boy that never grew up.
With their impressive production of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mocking Bird in the summer of 2013 and ’14, and William Golding’s Lord Of The Flies back in 2011, the theatre has also got a lot of experience recreating great literature for the stage. If they can do for Peter Pan what they’ve already done for these books then it should be a smart re-imagining of Neverland and the adventures that Barrie conjured up there.
Opening night for the production of Peter Pan will be on the 15th May 2015 with a month long run until the 14th June as a part of the Open Air Theatre’s 2015 summer schedule. Tickets are available to buy for any Tiger Lily fans out there from the 9th December 2014, making them a good option for a brilliantly left-field Christmas present. Prices range between £25 and £55.
The adaptation itself is taken from J.M. Barrie’s original stage play, which was first produced back during Christmas and New Year in 1904/05 at the Duke Of York’s Theatre in London. The famous Peter Pan play (also known as The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up) later went on to be adapted as the book, Peter And Wendy, which Barrie is perhaps better known for.
Most of us are pretty familiar with the storyline, but it will be interesting to see how the Open Air Theatre production stages the tale of Peter Pan’s many adventures in Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, John and Michael. With Peter’s fairy friend Tinkerbell, his gang of Lost Boys, Tiger Lily and the rest of the Indians, along with the nefarious Captain Hook and his pirates, there’s bound to be a whole lot of action to cram onto the stage.
While we liked the stripped back setting created for To Kill A Mocking Bird, we’re hoping that Peter Pan gets a much more lavish stage design at the Open Air Theatre to fit the fantastical wonder of the story. Although, it’ll also be important for it to avoid falling into the trap of it coming across too much like a pantomime production, so it’s going to be a fine line to tread.
The play is being directed by Tomothy Sheader and Liam Steel and with the warning that the performances are not suitable for young children and that kids under the age of 4 are not allowed, you’ve got to imagine that things are going to be a bit more hard hitting than the average Christmas panto. It’s got a two and a half hour run time too, so that should be enough to allow them to give the magical story the credit it deserves.
What’s fascinating is the ongoing presence of Peter Pan in popular culture today and the production in Regent’s Park next year adds to the continued success of J.M. Barrie’s work. It’s not the only recent instance of rediscovery for the adventures of Neverland either, as it’s also been confirmed that there will be a movie adaptation next year called, Pan.
For anyone that missed it at the Open Air Theatre, find out more about the To Kill A Mockingbird tour, to get a chance to see the production before it comes to a close.
