JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, telling the terrific tale of a young boy who refuses to grow up, has been enchanting audiences for generations. A firm family favourite, the classic children’s story receives a sprinkling of Birmingham Repertory Theatre magic this Christmas, with a brand-new adaptation being presented on the venue’s main stage. The Rep’s artistic director, Joe Murphy, is helming the production and recently chatted to What’s On about his love of Peter Pan...

When Birmingham Rep artistic director Joe Murphy was a child, one of his favourite stories was Peter Pan. Which is why Joe has chosen to create a new production of this ever-popular adventure tale for the venue’s Christmas show this year.

“I deeply love Peter Pan,” he says. “The original book and the original play are among my earliest memories of storytelling, and of me using my imagination to pretend to be other people and build other worlds.

“All I wanted to do as a kid was fly away with Peter Pan to Neverland. It really stuck with me. The adventures and the gang and never growing old just felt so exciting to me.”

Joe believes JM Barrie’s classic story of the boy who never grows up and the Darling children, who are whisked away to the magical Neverland and battle evil pirate Captain Hook, is a truly timeless tale: “It’s so funny and chaotic and exciting, but it’s also got a beautiful melancholia, a real emotional punch to it. In the end, I think those are the stories that really stay with you; the stories which, even through a childhood lens, are really wrestling with something important.

“I think ultimately Peter Pan is wrestling with the idea of ‘is time our enemy or is time our ally?’ It beautifully charts its way through that possibility and flips the script a lot of times on which way round that is.

“Instinctually you think ‘time is the enemy and Peter Pan is immortally young, and isn’t that amazing? He has awesome adventures and Hook is old and cranky’. But as the story goes on and you begin to see it through Wendy’s lens, you start to realise that eternal youth is amazing but it can’t accumulate experience or love or wisdom and all these things which give life its texture and its rarity and its beauty.

“So it comes to that bittersweet moment that I think we’ve all had, where you have to say goodbye to childhood.”

The new production, adapted by Phil Porter, features around 20 original new songs -  composed by Ruth Chan - and designs by Hayley Grindle. Joe and the team have been keen to ensure the production gets to the heart of the story of Peter Pan.

“We want to try and offer quite a definitive or iconic Peter Pan that de-pantos it, that de-Disneyfies it, and takes us back to that original source material, celebrating all the wonderful parts of that story which make it funny, exciting, moving and for all ages.

“Our roots as a producing drama house mean we always want to engage with the story and the characters as much as we can. Panto is fantastic and I love a panto, but it’s a very specific form and doesn’t lend itself to our Christmas show.

“Our family Christmas show is based on a fantastic story with compelling characters, beautiful scenery, magical moments and gorgeous songs, all originally created and produced for that production. It’s something to offer audiences which is unique in the city.”

And Joe is convinced the production will appeal across the generations: “It’s a family show, so whether you’re seven or 70, you’re going to have a fantastic experience with us. I think that’s why Peter Pan really endures. Like any of the best kids’ stories, it’s dealing with lots of different things, like childhood does. Childhood veers from great anarchy and wildness and wonder to sadness and growing up and responsibility, and I think Peter Pan captures that in such a light and deft way.

“The best family stories wrestle with real-world things in a safe, fun environment that allows children to subconsciously experience all these parts of growing up and give space to experiencing that. I think the book and the original play do it so well that we’re just following that roadmap really.”

Joe was keen for music to be at the heart of the show, and a cast of actor-musicians will perform the songs: “To me, Christmas is as much about music and singing as it is about socialising with friends and storytelling. I always want music running through the Christmas shows I want to see - and so, too, the ones I want to make.

“Peter Pan is also such rich territory for music. There are so many different worlds and characters, so the different worlds of music you can open up can feel really exciting.

“And it gives us this extra element we can give to our audiences. We love to celebrate live performance in all its ways, so to have a show that will feature flying and fighting and live music and beautiful costumes and brilliant actors... I love it when all of those elements come together to give a singular vision of a story; it’s the most exciting brand of theatre.”

For Joe, theatre has a huge role to play in bringing families together during the festive period: “I think people yearn for connection at Christmas. There’s a reason that A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan are enduring Christmas stories. They are both joyous but also get to the heart of what Christmas is about, what family is about, what love for each other is about.”

While Peter Pan plays the Main House, The Rep’s smaller space, The Door, is given over to another classic story: Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling.

“Our aim is that if you are seven and up, you know you can go to the Main House and see a wonderful Peter Pan, and if you’re six and under, you know you can go to The Door. Caroline Wilkes, who’s directing The Ugly Duckling, is such a wonderful director anyway, but for that age group she is utterly fantastic.

“We’ve been growing a fabulous Christmas audience for years. They know what to expect from The Rep and hopefully come back time and time again. Peter Pan and The Ugly Duckling are complementary - whatever age your kids are, you know there’s a show for them at The Rep this Christmas.”

Peter Pan shows at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Wednesday 18 November to Sunday 17 January. The Ugly Duckling shows at The Door from Thursday 3 December to Sunday 10 January.

By Diane Parkes