Wendy & Peter Pan - Review
We have been working with the youth engagement agency, Beatfreeks, Here is Luci's (from Beatfreeks) review of Wendy & Peter Pan.
This is a feminist interpretation of a feminist interpretation of Peter Pan
The
story of Peter Pan has never been my favourite. I mean with all the magic,
pirates, mermaids, sassy fairies and three-dimensional characters, you'd think
I'd love it. And as a practicing woman-child parts of me really do. Honestly,
who can ever get enough of swashbuckling adventures, flying, massive amounts of
sass and the prospect of never having to grow up? But in all the
interpretations I've seen, none of them resonated with me.
And
ironically, (as I'm reviewing a play about never wanting to grow up) now I'm
older, I understand why. Peter Pan, as a classic, is problematic for
contemporary reimagining’s. Whenever I’ve watched any interpretations I've
anticipated having to grit my teeth through uncomfortable scenes. I know. J.M
Barrie created Peter Pan as a character in 1902 and staged his most popular
version of the play in 1904, so we are talking about a play that was
constructed through the lens of The London Victorian era, you know, way before
Western media truly considered the negative impact of racial and gender-based
caricatures and stereotypes (although some would wonder if they do even now,
here's to looking at you Hollywood). But after enduring the Disney cooperation's
"What Makes The Red Man Red" I had long since disconnected with the
Peter Pan franchise entirely. (That's not to say I didn't adore Robin Williams
in Hook or have my first androgynous awakening from the 2003
version). But if we put the racial problems aside for a moment there's another
reason why I never connected with it.
Like
the majority of adventurous tales I was told when I was growing up, the story
is mostly boy-centric and Little Luci was tired of it. Wouldn't you be if the
extent of your female representation were either: Wendy, whose character
development hinged on her embracing gender roles and gracefully
understanding the steps towards maturity? Or Tink, who though is promising and
fantastically complex, has some serious hang ups that stop her from just having
some magic fairy fun? Or Mrs Darling, a somewhat forgettable character, and
lastly, Tiger Lily, who though was a person of colour, her presence was
minimalist and only there as a device to show how great Peter Pan was at
fighting off the Pirates.
I
mean I had no desire to be any of these characters. If anything I wanted to be
Pan. Pan looked like he had fun. Or a Lost Boy. They looked like they had fun.
Or even Captain Hook (villainy has always intrigued me). I didn't want to grow
up. I wanted to fly. I wanted to be a wild child on a perfect island forever,
who wouldn't? Like I said, the premise was there waiting for me to love
it, but I couldn't.
That
was, until I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)'s interpretation. They
called it Wendy and Peter Pan and it hit all the
right tones with me. I mean, since we are talking about The RSC I don't
feel the need to wax lyrically about the strength of the actors, or the
beautiful movement choices, or the epic grandness of the technical and staging
design or the high production value. After all it is the RSC. They've got a
reputation to uphold and I don't want to spoil anything for you.
But
what I do want to talk about is how this version helped me to understand
the story of Peter Pan in a new way. It stimulated me as an adult with some
chunky food for thought on its meatier themes of death and youth, while still
inviting the Little Luci in me to find characters and scenes I'd wished I had
the opportunity to hear originally. It was a delight to watch on the premier
night with so many young people in the crowd. They cooed and awed and cried and
laughed in all the right places, which is testimony to the magic of the show.
It successfully transports the viewer to a magical world where everything is
exciting and every scene is engaging.
It
was also satisfying on another level. It shone light on the experiences of the
women of the play. Not just as Peter's love interest, or a device to show how
great he was or how evil Hook was. They had real and strong developmental
moments. Mrs Darling, Wendy's mother, wasn't just a minimal character, she did
something for herself and was seen as a sympathetic but strong maternal figure
who loved play as much as her children in spite of struggles.
And
Wendy wasn't in Neverland just to play an extended game of Pretend House with
Peter and his Lost Boys but had her own mission, which she succeeded in. As did
Tiger Lily, who, with a bit of writing genius was a person of colour that
wasn't offensive, serving as an interesting historical parallel to our own
world, and was on all accounts a warrior (Little Luci wants to be her at
playtime). Tink, who found her own brand of happiness and wasn't your average
ordinary interpretation of a fairy. She was rough and tumble with gentleness to
her.
Like
I said, all these ladies had full characters with strong back stories and
complex, independent thoughts which enabled them to save themselves, and those
they loved. Actually at one point the girls on Neverland; Tink, Wendy and
Tiger, join together to overcome a Pirate-based problem which felt was sublime.
Forget the glorification of tearing each other down, female solidarity is the
story little girls need to be hearing.
There
was also space for gender-role fluidity with the male characters, which was
perfect. Needless to say the script was great, thanks Ella
Hickson, because though the play was a feminist interpretation it wasn't
just about the ladies. The males were equally integral and well considered (and
isn't that what feminism is truly about)?
Secondly
it used the elements of fantasy to tackle some pretty heavy topics. It is
speculated that J.M Barrie wrote Peter Pan in tribute of his fourteen-year-old
brother who died in an ice skating accident when he was quite young. That kind
of solemnness and gravitas is what sews this interpretation together. It
tackles very adult issues of grief, discontentment and growth with great care.
It offers a space to feel and heal by using its fantastic cast of characters to
instil a sense of belief and comfort.
Thirdly
it nodded at the suffragette movement by adjusting the timescale of the story
forward by a few decades. This was incredible to watch from a historical
perspective. As the viewer we witnessed Wendy's frustrations with Peter Pan,
who decided he no longer wanted to play Father anymore while she had no choice
but to be Mother despite it not being her ambition, and at the same time
observed Mrs Darling's frustrations which were also associated with the concept
of wifely duties. Meanwhile this growing social unrest was creating a movement
to address these exact issues (Read Feminine Mystique by Betty
Friedan).
That's
not to say it was all perfect. The justification for why there were only Lost
Boys was too male-centric for my tastes and the play could benefit by being
more sensitive to existing queer stereotypes. But apart from that it was a
solid show and a fantastic night out.
Leading
me to conclude that navigating intersectional feminism isn’t easy. Especially
through premises that were created before sexism, racism and classism were
carefully addressed through mainstream mediums. But when it is done, and done
with consideration and care as with this particular play, it is so exciting and
worth it. So congratulations to The RSC on being brave enough to breathe new
and fresh life into a story that deserves to be told. Even if the social
hierarchal structure it was originally founded on is upheaved, the themes
of Neverland never grow old.
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