Scotch College

Peter Pan

The Scotch production of Peter Pan takes a new flight path

WORDS: Mr Michael Waugh Photography: Lachie Bell – Year 12

Year 7 and 8 Scotch boys collaborated with PLC to produce a new take on an old classic in the James Forbes Academy in August.

‘To live would be an awfully big adventure’, J M Barrie tells us in Peter Pan; or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. Scotland’s most famous play has entertained audiences since it premiered in 1904, and is an affirmation of life, childhood and the imagination. The Scotch College and Presbyterian Ladies’ College presentation of Peter Pan was a new interpretation of the children’s classic.

This production incorporated circus, dance and game playing. In an age where most children’s imaginations have been limited by contemporary media and computerised gaming, theatre is perhaps one of the last places for young people to play ‘make believe’. Even grown-ups are allowed to join in. This interpretation of Peter Pan focuses on the motif of children playing ‘let’s pretend’. Surely it’s the imagination that makes life the ‘awfully big adventure’ that Peter wants us to take.

Sixty Year 7 and 8 boys rehearsed for Peter Pan since May this year. Director (Scotch teacher and grown-up) Michael Waugh worked with them on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons. He was joined on Sundays by choreographer Harlene Hercules, who worked to develop dance sequences, bringing to life the forests of Neverland, Peter’s underground home and the Mermaid’s Lagoon.

The students also worked with circus skills teacher, Teresa Blake, who helped to develop the flying effects used in the play. Teresa is an experienced teacher and performer and has worked with companies all over the world, including Circus Oz.

One of the key features of this production was the tripling of Peter Pan. The character of Peter was played by three actors, each boy representing a different part of Peter’s personality. In Barrie’s original script, Peter is at once a charismatic leader, a conceited adventurer, and a lost boy searching for a mother: different actors take on each of these three elements. Of course, if there were three Peters, we also needed three Tinkerbells (who would, no doubt, cause three times the trouble).

Peter and Tinkerbell were joined in Neverland by pirates (led by the malevolent Captain Hook), mermaids, an Indian tribe, and the cheeky Lost Boys. GS