When I was in the midst of writing my version of Peter Pan as a PANtomime script (oh dear) back in 2018, I knew this would not be a ‘traditional’ pantomime – in the sense that it is not classified as one of the ‘Big Four’ (namely, Aladdin, Cinderella, Dick Whittington and Jack and the Beanstalk). I found that, in writing it, I was in fact telling a story I did not expect to be told.

FLASHBACK TO EARLY 2018 …

We all know of the adventures of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Darling children. We are all well versed in the tale of the boy who refused to grow up. The Darlings all go on a voyage to discover that there is – like Dorothy – no place like home. For the Darling children, that is London. Edwardian London. A time of top hats and straight backs. But as I wrote the combined character of Mr. Darling/Captain Hook, he became the most intriguing to me. He goes on the furthest journey, perhaps not in actuality, but his journey is the central, powering story of the whole, despite the title of ‘Peter Pan’. It is through Mr. Darling we discover the key themes of the tale: loss, redemption and love. It is through Mr. Darling we discover J. M. Barrie’s message on the value of childhood.

Mr. Darling is reminded that childhood is a gift not to be missed, shown by it being suddenly flown away from him. Before his children are snatched away from his metaphorical castle, Mr. Darling brushes them aside and wishes them to be nothing more than invisible. They interrupt his quiet life. In short, he is on a path to become a harsh, hostile and resentful man. Saving Mr. Darling becomes the goal.

Another story comes to mind at this point. Another story set in Edwardian London that has a magical flying character as its lead, with the father-figure – rather than the children as we might first assume – being the one that needs to be saved: Mary Poppins. As the recent film Saving Mr. Banks demonstrated, he too was the cause of the central thematic focus: redemption. In Mary Poppins, Mr. Banks must be rescued from his spiral of self-destruction into a bitter and lonely man. In Peter Pan, Mr. Darling needs reminding that if he forgets to love his children they may, in turn, forget him.

At face value, Mr. Banks and Mr. Darling represent what was considered the ideal Edwardian gentleman. Stiff-upper lip, adherence to order and ‘good form’. Underneath the surface, however, they choose to neglect their children. It is not due to misfortune that these fathers are distracted. They wilfully choose this. In response, their children all select an alternative parental-figure, someone who gives them the attention they crave, the adventures they wish for, and the freedom to imagine. For the Banks children, their guide is Mary Poppins. For the Darlings, their escape is Peter Pan.

Despite the overbearing presence of Mr. Banks and Mr. Darling in their respective children’s lives, it is in fact the magical Poppins and Pan that represent the constant. They both arrive and leave in the same manner. By air – literally dropping in – they interrupt an unhappy household with a dominating father obsessed with business. Both take the children to lands full of magic, returning once the children learn the true value of their home and their family. Upon the children’s return to London, we discover that the actual beneficiaries of the magic were, in fact, the fathers. Both men have been enlightened to the joy of family and what this really means. They have been redeemed.

Then Poppins and Pan fly away. Their stories are on a constant loop. A never-ending supply of adventures, saving those that did not know they needed saving from themselves. That is what makes them so magical for generation after generation.

Now to include all that in pantomime form. Shouldn’t be too tricky.

 *Stares at blank page.*