Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Peter Pan - Kensington Gardens

Peter Pan will be reappearing in London this summer as a brand new production of the world famous story lands in a specially designed venue in the heart of Kensington Gardens. It means that amongst the sunshine and the green grass a large tent will be a brand new addition to the surroundings of the outdoors, inside which a compelling and truly unique rendition of the boy who never grew up will be showcased for all to see. The tent will boast a capacity of over a thousand people and features a 360 degree scenic design as the backdrop, utilising CGI to bring Neverland to life.

J M Barrie’s story of Peter Pan will unfold in a way you have never seen before as we are introduced to the beloved character as he visits Wendy Darling in her London house. It’s a story many are familiar with in which all of the Darling children, including Michael and John as well as Wendy herself are taken on an enchanting journey as they fly through the London sky and travel to Peter’s world of Neverland. It is in this fantasy world that Peter and his gang of trouble making runaways live and survive, whilst fighting an ongoing war with the evil Captain Hook, a villainous and cowardly pirate.

The production is to be directed by Ben Harrison, who has directed many productions with the Scottish theatre company Grid Iron. For Peter Pan he operates alongside Laurence Olivier Award winner and designer William Dudley, who will truly bring the show to life.

The stories of Peter Pan have enchanted many for years, having first surfaced in the early 1900s in the novel Little White Bird, followed by the 1904 play Peter Pan. However, the character would make many re-appearances in various incarnations of the story, including The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, Peter And Wendy, and Peter Pan And Wendy. It was also turned into a 1953 animated movie from Disney Pictures, which popularised many notions of Peter Pan and influenced many incarnations that would follow. When the play arrives at Kensington Gardens it will be taking on some significance as the location where a statue of the character already exists, whilst it was also the location where Barrie met the Llewelyn Davies family for the first time – the inspiration for his most famous work.

Peter Pan is at Kensington Gardens from Wednesday 10th June 2009 (previews from Tuesday 26th May 2009) and is currently booking until Sunday 30th August 2009.