Our heritage

J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (2015)

15 May – 14 June

J.M Barrie

George Llewelyn Davies, killed in action in WW1, was one of the children who inspired the iconic character of Peter Pan. Remembering him, and a generation of lost boys, Artistic Director, Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel rediscovered J. M. Barrie’s original stage play. This was an incredibly ambitious production for an open air venue; flying cast across the stage and audience without a roof seemed problematic, but through the use of bungees and the techniques taught by Wired Aerial, 'the aerialism suspends your disbelief a treat: Hiran Abeysekera as Peter...soars with abandon' (The Times). This new interpretation, set in the First World War, was deemed 'a visionary and defining production' (Time Out). The production was nominated in the 2016 Olivier Awards for Best Family Entertainment.
J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (2015)
Photo Tristram Kenton

The cast

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Creative team

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Reviews

Time Out

"JAW-DROPPING...a magical spectacle, and...a heap more besides. It looks stunning: stuffed with steampunky puppets ...plus some swashbuckling flight scenes. No expense has been spared – surely the West End beckons A VISIONARY and DEFINING production"

DigitalSpy

"A MAGICAL and WISTFUL adventure. All of the performances...are heartwarming and hilarious, while David Birrell brilliantly plays Hook as a mix between the Pirate King and Stephen Fry in Blackadder."

CultureWhisper.com

"A MOVING, INTELLIGENT and FUN-FILLED TRIUMPH The production benefits from the same focus on story-telling that artistic director Timothy Sheader used so effectively in his production of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s rare to find a show that can delight young and old in equal measure, but Peter Pan pulls it off."

Daily Telegraph

"TERRIFIC ... boisterous and full of childlike ingenuity. The production is drenched in magical, earthy delights The elegant, poetic irony that shadows the action is unmistakable; it’s a shimmering mix of dream and nightmare”

Independent

"Never Land really flies at this outdoor theatre. Hiran Abeysekera as Peter finds a sprightly balance of pluck and petulance. Fight scenes are ROLLICKING, while the buoyant, bouncing flying will have you yearning to join in."

Financial Times

"SUPERB...sprightly, imaginative and terrific fun. The flying, led by Hiran Abeysekera's charismatic and impish Peter, is joyous."

The Times

"Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel's fluid, physical production...is THRILLING. The aerialism suspends your disbelief a treat: Hiran Abeysekera as Peter...soars with abandon."

Evening Standard

"PHYSICALLY INVENTIVE...with a majestic sense of spectacle"

Daily Mail

"I'M HOOKED! Hiran Abeysekera makes Peter fizz with quizzical energy"

Daily Express

"As the sun goes down in Regent's Park and a crescent moon rises above the stage, the Open Air Theatre sprinkles its own kind of fairy dust across the auditorium"

Observer

"You'll believe a boy can fly. Eve, my early stage secondary school companion enjoyed this Peter Pan as much as I did. Each of us brought our own level of understanding to this unexpected reworking; each found satisfaction. SPELLBINDING"

AYoungerTheatre.com

“I don’t suppose there could be a better adaptation of Peter Pan than has been achieved here – on stage, in film, in your wild spun dreams. This is a DARING and INGENIOUS exhibition of how theatre can transfigure the old stories we know so well into an encounter so singular, we forget we ever knew the story at all.”

Sunday Mirror

"A PIECE OF THEATRICAL MAGIC"

Programmes and Marketing

Sets

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Misc Images

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Awards

Best Entertainment & Family

Olivier Award: Nominated