Study Guide written by Luisa Appolloni, Education Associate - Enrichment Focus, Education Department, Stratford Festival
INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDE
"Okay, all right - here's what's going to happen - we're going to be a team."
- Wendy, Wendy & Peter Pan (Act 3, scene 4)
This exciting new play, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012, explores themes and issues in a contemporary way. In particular, the familiar story is seen from the viewpoint of the female protagonist, Wendy, who in previous versions has been largely ignored in favour of the male perspective. The play is filled with a child's sense of adventure, wonderment and imagination. Equally, though, it examines more complex issues such as dealing with grief, coming of age, challenging stereotypes, decolonization, equity, diversity and inclusivity. In seeing the play and participating in the activities in this guide, Wendy & Peter Pan offers a unique opportunity for students to discover the importance and need to build empathy to make space for greater understanding and acceptance for all.
Content Advisory
Deals with mental health, grief and bullying.
Includes scenes and incidents, such as the deaths of some characters, that may frighten very young children.
Curriculum Connections
Grades 3 +
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Themes
• The Power of Imagination: the value of storytelling; the hero and heroine's journey; finding hope; love of magic and adventure
• Identity: coming of age; developing self-confidence; finding courage; freedom to discover and be oneself; female empowerment; gender roles and stereotypes
• Mental Health, Relationships and Well-Being: finding hope in sadness and grieving; strength in community; dealing with jealousy and bullying
• Growing Up: self-discovery; standing up for yourself; grappling with guilt and failure; making choices
Three key figures to look for in Wendy & Peter Pan
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A Perspective on the Piece from the Director
With Keira Loughran
What excites you about directing this piece?
Peter Pan was one of the first musicals I saw as a child. It was also the first play I was involved in at school, and it became the first play I ever directed when I ran a drama program at a summer camp as a teen. I adore the spirit of adventure and celebration of childhood in this story.
This clever adaptation by Ella Hickson returns to Barrie's original story and identifies Wendy, not Peter, as the main character. This follows the rules of drama, where the protagonist is the character who changes the most over the course of the story. Ella uses this premise to centre Wendy's experience and explore how she might have seen and interpreted the events surrounding her adventures in Neverland.
In doing so, the story maintains all the narrative elements I loved in my childhood but explores them in a contemporary way that engages me as an adult and makes me excited to share with my own kids.
Could you share a little bit about your artistic vision for the production?
My primary goal is to take everyone in the audience on this adventure with Wendy, to awaken and flex their imaginations and, frankly, to have a lot of fun.
Neverland, in Barrie's story, is actually referred to as "the Neverlands." It is a subjective, fluid place; it manifests itself differently for each child who discovers it. This was key for me to unlock our Neverland as the ultimate island of possibility and adventure for every child alive today. Anything is possible in our Neverland so long as you can imagine it, and when you imagine deeply, magic can happen in ways that transform you.
To that end, we are introducing many tools or toys to prompt, push and provoke our imaginations and the imaginations of our audience: ways to fly, games to play, environments to explore, allies and enemies to engage in battle. We then unleash Barrie's beloved characters into this environment and discover the adventure and quest together.
Why is the female narrative important in today's world?
I wouldn't say the female narrative is more important than the male, but we've seen a lot of the male narrative already. It has been considered; we've learned a lot and spent a lot of time and resources centring it for a long time.
Almost half of the world's population is female. And from an Eastern perspective, maintaining an even balance between yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) in all regards is essential for harmony. So I'm happy that this production begins to address the historic imbalance of centring the male perspective and makes space for the female narrative within this story. Hopefully, we all gain new understanding and insight into the story and our own lives by doing so.
What does this play say about dealing with death and grief when a young person dies?
As some kids might know from the movie Finding Neverland, Peter Pan was inspired by Barrie's meeting and befriending of the Llewelyn-Davies family: five boys who had recently lost their father. Barrie himself also lost a brother when he was seven years old. So the idea and experience of children having to confront and reconcile themselves to death is in the bedrock of this story. Through her adaptation, playwright Ella Hickson offers children (and adults) a means through which they can begin to move through the trauma that death brings into a child's experience, and a worldview within which they can find some comfort and the ability to move forward with love and joy.
How will you create the world of Neverland?
As I said earlier, Barrie called them "the Neverlands." Our Neverland is a place outside of the conventional limits of time and space. It is the zone between what is materially present on stage and the imaginations of the actors and the audience. It is created through the actions of the characters: they can literally bring a location together, move from one place to another in the blink of an eye, or hold space for multiple narratives happening at the same time.
Set designer Robin Fisher has worked to create a playground for the production that transforms fluidly from one reality to another. It is a "Tickle Trunk" of possibility. To reference other classic children's stories (and recent Stratford productions), it has a sense of being "through the Looking Glass" or "through the Wardrobe," but most important, it is "second star to the right and straight on till morning."
In the original story, Peter may be seen as irresponsible, while Wendy automatically takes on a maternal role. How does this version change that dynamic?
I don't know if it changes it; rather, it explores and challenges it more deeply. Children are arguably irresponsible, regardless of gender. Many of Wendy's actions in the play are undertaken completely irresponsibly - she is a child still. And while a maternal role is asked of her, how she feels about it and what prompts her to take it on are given more consideration and scope in this play. Being moved to take on age-appropriate responsibilities while still giving herself space to be a child through this process is an integral part of Wendy's coming of age, as it is for all kids. Furthermore, the story also shows how important it is for adults to be adults, so that kids can be kids, and for each to appreciate the intergenerational wisdom that is available within those relationships.
How will Captain Hook be portrayed?
Laura Condlln is playing the role of Captain Hook. Captain Hook is the antithesis of Peter Pan. The Captain is the adult who never grew up and, moreover, is ruthless in the defence of this existence.
What is the boys' perspective in this story? How do we relate to the Lost Boys? Does the strengthening of the female characters allow the boys to relate to the world in a different way?
As a woman of colour, I grew up seeing theatre that always required me to see myself in characters that looked very different than I did. This gave me a great gift: I understood theatre as metaphor; I experienced greater empathy across difference.
For me, this play (and our world) is moving away from a binary understanding of gender and toward experiencing gender on a spectrum. I believe theatre holds great power in recognizing the complexity of each human existence and in building empathy through this complexity. My hope is that all children are able to relate to all the characters regardless of their gender identification; that they will root for the protagonist, find pity for the villain, and both laugh and weep for the Darling children as they return home from their adventures.
The Lost Boys are children who live without parental figures. They are figuring out how to manage themselves without adults. They have needs that they are perhaps assuming would/should be managed by a parent. At the same time, they all want to be Captain. In centring the experiences of Wendy, Tink and Tiger Lily, relationships, teamwork and planning become central to the successful execution of the ultimate taking down of Hook and the pirates. These qualities, however, do not necessarily come easily to these characters, despite their gender identity - something I think all children can relate to.
Are there aspects of this play, and of your particular production, that will resonate with things in the world today that we are maybe not seeing or that we need to re-examine?
This adaptation was originally commissioned in England in 2012. It was written in the spirit of reimagining this beloved story in context of a more contemporary world, particularly with regards to disrupting stereotypes that the story's enduring popularity has continued to unwittingly propagate, particularly with regards to sexism, classism and colonialism. For this Canadian première - almost ten years later and in the country that was, for Barrie, the "New World" - we have made changes to the published script, with the blessing of the playwright, in an attempt to continue in this spirit of disruption; making space in the production for our evolving understanding of the complexity of gender identification, our path of reconciliation with Indigenous people, our efforts in decolonization, and our belief in the power of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Are there specific production elements or other aspects of the staging of the play that audiences might find innovative or unusual?
It's always a thrill to see Peter and the Darling children fly in a production of Peter Pan. For our production, I wanted the actors to be the primary instigators of flight. I wanted them to be in control and leading the impulse. I have brought in acclaimed choreographer Allen Kaeja to build a vocabulary of dance with the ensemble that will be the basis for all the games, fights and flights in the show. It has developed out of contact dance and requires a high degree of complicity among the actors to execute, which I find quite thrilling. It will also evolve into and impact the execution of the cable flying in the show. The set is also designed to surprise, transform and delight. My hope ultimately is that what the actors can accomplish themselves and what they can accomplish through the help of stage magic is unexpected, fun, seamless and inspiring.
What do you hope audience members will feel during the show? What questions do you want them to leave with? Is there anything that you hope young people might be particularly engaged by?
I hope kids feel seen and reflected in the characters of the play. I hope they want to run up on the stage and play Bubble Ball with us. I hope they are inspired to play as hard and with as much ferocity as the actors. I hope adults remember how important it is for kids to be kids. I hope they realize how great it is to have kids in your life, no matter how frustrating and infuriating it can be at times. And I hope everyone discovers that they do believe in fairies.