York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s cast for Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre will perform on the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 in a large-scale production of Ella Hickson’s Wendy & Peter Pan from September 3 to 5.
Forty-six young performers aged eight to 19 will perform this magical re-telling of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan, where the focus now falls on Wendy’s adventures in Neverland.
Performers are drawn from all the youth theatre groups, as well as newcomers, while a further seven young people are supporting the production as backstage crew, from stage management, sound and lighting to craft and prop making.
Lydia Crosland, York Theatre Royal’s head of communities for five years, is co-directing the show with Sophie-Jade Howell in her last production after two years as head of youth theatre before leaving the Theatre Royal on September 23 to take up a new youth theatre post at Leeds Heritage Theatres.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talent of our brilliant Youth Theatre community, both on stage and off,” says Lydia. “There is something truly special about co-creating a show with young people and I can’t wait to watch their creativity shine. We’re seeking to make a production where young people really feel ownership of it.”
Sophie-Jade says: “Ella Hickson’s take on the Peter Pan story is so beautiful and heartfelt. It’s got everything I love in an adventure: raucous pirate battles, a punk-rock fairy and plenty of magic and mischief along the way. We have such a talented company of young performers and I know the whole process will be such a blast!”
Soar up into the night sky with Wendy, Peter and Tink in Hickson’s fairy dust-sprinkled girl power account of Barrie’s story as a quiet sadness besets the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink.
Sophie-Jade Howell, left, and Lydia Crosland, co-directors of York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s production of Wendy & Peter Pan
Cue Wendy leading the rebellious Lost Boys, taking on the terrifying Captain Hook, finding the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovering the power of being brave and strong.
“We picked the play with the young people from our Youth Theatre Forum,” says Sophie-Jade. “We hold 13 youth theatre sessions per week in term time, and from each class two people take part in the forum.
“We were encouraged by the theatre management to pick a classic, which I’m always excited by because there are loads of stories that be told in new ways.
“We brought the forum four or five plays to choose from, and Ella Hickson’s play won unanimously. We did a reading and got everyone interacting on their feet.”
Wendy & Peter Pan appealed to the co-directors and youth members alike with its radical re-positioning of Wendy in the storyline. “I always think, ‘why does Wendy only get to play at being as mum in J M Barrie’s story, when everyone else gets to be a pirate?’,” says Lydia.
“But in this play, she does get to do battle with the pirates , and everyone really identified with that, wanting to celebrate their empowerment. Tink is sassy too, and Mrs Darling joins the Suffragettes and takes a job as a seamstress and dress maker, so all the female roles are much more fleshed out.”
Sophie-Jade adds: “It’s now Wendy’s story. It just felt right to us as creatives to look at this story in a new way, and it’s exciting to do that in a feminist way. When you’re working with this age group, you have to look at stories that speak to them in a contemporary way.”
Molly as Captain Hook and Esther as Wendy in York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
Hickson’s play features a fourth Darling child, Tom, a Lost Boy, whose loss necessitates Wendy to become his mother figure because the parents are so grief-stricken.
“The story has real heart to it,” says Lydia. “But there are comedic moments too; it’s funny and playful at times, raucous too, and because of that, the emotional, tender moments work even better, to contrast with the absolute carnage of the pirate scenes!”
Lydia and Sophie-Jade are joined in the production team by designer Kate Marshall and lighting designer Craig Kilmartin and composer and sound designer Joe Allen, with music being co-created by York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre and Access All Areas group, complemented by actor-musician students from Leeds Conservatoire.
York Dance Space will also be supporting with movement direction for the show. “We’re trying to move away from the traditional idea of Peter Pan flying across the stage,” says Sophie Jade. “We’re using physical theatre and puppetry instead, with lots of lifting and movement.”
York Theatre Royal’s Autumn Youth Theatre will start again for another term from September 21 with places available for children of all ages from five to 19.
The weekly drama sessions take place at York Theatre Royal, York College and York St John University, offering young people a fun way to develop performance skills, improve their confidence and make new friends. For more details on how to take part, go to: https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/be-part-of-it/children-and-young-people/youth-theatre.
On September 24, Sophie- Jade will begin her new post “updating the youth theatre programme” with Leeds Heritage Theatres, which runs Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picturehouse.
“”I’m really sad to be leaving because York Theatre Royal has been my home,” she says. “I’m not leaving for any other reason than that I live in Leeds.”
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre presents Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, September 3 to 5, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: five plus. The show is being made with support from The Feoffees of St Michael’s Spurriergate, York Youth Partnership Funding and the York Common Good Trust.
Age guidance: Five plus. Content guidance: This production has theatrical smoke, sudden loud noises and audience participation (a large inflatable ball will be passed around the Stalls).