Theatre books a return ticket to Neverland

Around this time of year, York Theatre Royal used to begin winding down productions for the summer.

The best part of July and most of August was given over to maintenance staff and, with the auditorium clear, it was a chance for the theatre’s staff to get ready for the new season in September. However, all that changed in York a few years ago.

It was back in 2008 that artistic director Damien Cruden fulfilled a long-held ambition to stage The Railway Children. The show, which was performed in the grounds of the National Railway Museum, complete with real steam locomotive, was an overnight success and, after two summers in York it went on the road.

Moving first to London’s Waterloo station and onwards to Toronto, Mike Kenny’s critically acclaimed adaptation of E Nesbit’s book proved there was an appetite for theatre during the school holidays and identified a potentially lucrative gap in the market. Fast forward to this year and York is preparing to stage another ambitious production, this time in the theatre itself.

It’s JM Barrie’s Peter Pan which has this year been given the Kenny treatment and with Belt-Up Theatre on board it promises to be much more than the usual Disney fare. Belt-Up were formed when a group of York University students got together in 2008 and in their short history they have earned a reputation for producing innovative theatre and won some staggering reviews, including gushing praise from Stephen Fry.

They are now the resident company at York Theatre Royal and for the members of Belt-Up, who normally operate on a shoe-string budget, working on this show has been something of a departure.

“Normally we have to build our own sets, find our own costumes and do everything ourselves,” says founder member and Peter Pan pirate Dominic Allen. “Suddenly we’re in the Theatre Royal and if something needs doing there is a whole backstage crew to take care of it. We have been incredibly spoilt, but I suspect we shouldn’t get used to this kind of luxury.”

Peter Pan opens next week and, with the show featuring a large cast of children, rehearsals have been anything but easy.

“We have four different teams of 11 children playing the Lost Boys, the Mermaids as well as Wendy, John and Michael,” says James Wilkes, who, like Dominic, stars as one of Captain Hook’s pirates. “The downside is that it means we have to rehearse everything four times, but on the upside it keeps you on your toes as every group works slightly differently.

“I know people say never work with children, but these kids are great, there’s not a stage school mentality between them.”

As he did with The Railway Children, Kenny has gone back to the original story, removing the sugary gloss which has traditionally coated musical adaptations and big screen animations of Neverland.

“The story is really quite dark,” says Alex Wright, also a founder member of Belt-Up and assistant director on Peter Pan. “It’s about the psychology of childhood and the power of the imagination and while obviously it has to be entertaining, one of the things we wanted to do with the show was explore those various themes.”

The show is the latest in the Theatre Royal’s ensemble season which has seen the venue swap its proscenium arch for an in-the-round layout. It means that shows are played out in the kind of intimate atmosphere Belt-Up is used to.

“Compared to the kind of spaces we generally play it still feels pretty palatial,” says Alex. “But it definitely adds something to a show like this. Even little things, like the fact that the cast don’t have to face the front when they perform, means you have a greater sense of freedom with the direction.”

As with any production of Peter Pan, it’s the flying sequences which are the most eagerly awaited. With final rehearsals underway, Alex won’t reveal details of how the cast take to the skies, all he will say is that it might not be quite what the audience are expecting.

“Of course they fly,” he says. “They wouldn’t get to Neverland otherwise, but it’s the one thing we want to keep a surprise until the show actually opens.”

So Peter Pan may not be able to boast a full-scale steam locomotive, but with Belt-Up on board it has every chance of being another runaway success for York.

Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, July 29 to September 3. 01904 623568, www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

The life and times of Peter Pan

The character of Peter Pan first appeared in The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel written by JM Barrie for adults.

Two years later his most popular adventures were turned into a stage play, but it wasn’t until 1911 that the novel as we know it today was published.

In 1929, Barrie, well-known for his charitable works, handed over the copyright of his Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Since then Peter Pan has appeared in a number of adaptations, sequels, and prequels, including a Walt Disney animation in 1953 and the 1991 film Hook.