Wendy & Peter Pan

Wendy & Peter Pan is a play by Ella Hickson, adapted from the original play and novel Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J.M. Barrie. The play is a re-telling of the classic children's story which features Wendy Darling as the protagonist who flies away with Peter Pan to Neverland.

Wendy & Peter Pan
Written by	Ella Hickson (play) J.M. Barrie (novel)
Date premiered	10 December 2013 (2013-12-10)
Place premiered	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Setting	Winter 1908, London and Neverland

Background

Playwright Ella Hickson was commissioned to write a new adaptation of Peter Pan for the Christmas show in Gregory Doran's first season as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

This version of the classic children's story is told through Wendy Darling's perspective as she meets Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up. She and her brothers, John and Michael, fly away with Pan and Tink to Neverland where they meet with the Lost Boys and battle the evil Captain Hook. This feminist re-working of the story prominently discovers some of the darker themes within the original story and introduces some new characters, such as Tom, a fourth child of the Darling family.

Productions

RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon (2013-4)

The play had its premiere on 10 December 2013 where it ran at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon until 2 March 2014. The production was directed by Jonathan Munby, designed by Colin Richmond, music by Oliver Fox and Jason Carr, lighting by Oliver Fenwick, sound by Christopher Shutt and fights by Terry King.

RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon revival (2015-6)

For Christmas 2015 the production was revived by the RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where it began on 25 November 2015, with previews from 17 November, and ran until 31 January 2016. The play had received some changes from the 2013 production, such as new changes to the score by Oliver Fox and Jason Carr, new script and scene changes including flying and fighting scenes. Many members of the cast had also changed from the previous production.

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh (2018-19)

A new production directed by Eleanor Rhode, starring Isobel McArthur as Wendy Darling and Ziggy Heath as Peter Pan, ran at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 29 November 2018 to 5 January 2019.

Leeds Playhouse (2021)

A revival was commissioned as part of the Christmas season at the Leeds Playhouse, with original director Jonathan Munby returning.

Characters and cast

Character	RSC (2013)	RSC revival (2015)	Leeds Playhouse Revival (2021)
Wendy	Fiona Button	Mariah Gale[1]	Amber James
John	Jolyon Coy	James Corrigan	Corey Montague-Sholay
Michael	Brodie Ross	Jordan Metcalfe	Stefan Race
Tom	Colin Ryan	Sam Clemmett	David Carpenter
Mrs Darling	Rebecca Johnson		Amy Rockson
Mr Darling/Skylights	Andrew Woodwall	Partick Tomboy	David Birrell/Jason Battersby
Doc Giles/Crocodile/Shadow	Arthur Kyeyune		Leon Smith
Peter Pan	Sam Swann	Rhys Rusbatch	Pierro Niel-Mee
Tink	Charlotte Mills		Hope Kenna
Tootles	Josh Williams	Lawrence Walker	Callum Balmforth
Curly	Dafyyd Llyr Thomas	Douggie McMeekin	James Steventon
Slightly	Will Merrick	Harry Waller	Richard Leeming
Nibs	Jack Monaghan	Cavan Clarke	N/A
Captain Hook	Guy Henry	Darrel D'Silva	David Birrell
Smee	Gregory Gudgeon	Paul Kemp	Brian Lonsdale
Doc Swain	Guy Rhys	Dan Wheeler	Cassidy Little
Knock Bone Jones	Richard Clews	David Langham	Hadley Smith
Murt The Bat	Dodger Phillips		Ramône Dale-Cruickhank
Martin	Jamie Wilkes	Adam Gillen	Thomas Pickles
Tiger Lily	Michelle Asante	Mimi Ndiweni	Ami Okumura Jones
Peter's Shadow	Martin Costane	Simon Carroll-Jones	Jason Battersby
Shadow	Simon Carroll-Jones	Jay Webb	Peter Losasso
Shadow	Susan Hingley		Kelvin Ade
Shadow	Emily Holt	Laura Prior	Simone Lewis
Shadow	Jack Horner		Richard P. Peralta
Shadow			Leon Smith
Shadow			Xolani Crabtree

1. ^ Gale stepped in to play Wendy as original actress Fiona Button had to withdraw due to injury in rehearsals.