Interview: Writer, director and performer CHARLOTTE ELLEN on Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Betwixt-and-Between’s magical adaptation of J.M.Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens invites you to fly away with them on this 60-minute story-telling adventure. We spoke to writer, director and performer Charlotte Ellen about her various roles and bringing the production to The POD in the grounds of The Actor’s Church, Covent Garden.

Peter Pan has had many incarnations in varying different forms over the years. Tell us about your production, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

After the success of his play Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie published his prequel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens as a book for children in 1906 with wonderful illustrations by Arthur Rackham - it was actually one of these illustrations that first made me aware the story. In our production, Peter’s story is played out by Mary, a little girl who doesn’t want to grow up, and her father, George. Through games and songs, they tell the story of Peter’s earliest adventures flying to Kensington Gardens as a baby. It’s a really charming tale, with Barrie’s signature for witty characters and heaps of nostalgia about childhood and the power of imagination and magic, but it has a lot of soul too. Surprisingly for a hero we associate with running away and adventure, Peter’s early story highlights the value family and home. 

Writing, directing and starring in a show is very impressive and no mean feat! You are as close as you can be to the material. How do you separate your three roles out?

Necessity is the mother of invention.

I love working collaboratively and before writing this play, I had spent ten years as an actor and eventually found myself working more and more as part of creative ensembles. I always knew I might write and direct and never consciously set out to do it all at once but when I started my own self-funded theatre company, doing as much as I could myself was simply the only way I could afford to run it. The adaptation and writing were naturally fairly separate, although the play has continued to be developed throughout the process, most notably by the addition of the wonderful original songs by Patrick Neil Doyle. 

Directing and acting in the piece has been much harder to juggle. I had to learn to ‘step out’ of a scene and think of it with an outside eye before committing to it as an actor, which took a lot of support from my partner and castmate, Daniel Arbon. Long term, I look forward to being able to employ a team of people, but it has certainly been an adventure and an education to grapple with so many elements of telling this beautiful story on stage.

This marks the first stage adaptation of such a classic text in London. Is this exciting for you or do you feel any pressure?

I feel responsibility more than pressure. Before I saw the Arthur Rackham illustration of a baby floating in a nest with the caption Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, I had never heard of this story so I know it will be new to many of our audience too. 

I remember thinking ‘this image is not from any version of Peter Pan I know’.

When I found J.M.Barrie had written a whole prequel, I felt amazed it wasn’t more well known and even more so when I started to dig and saw it had never been adapted for the stage. 

The year I discovered the story, my sister gave me a 1906 copy of the book for my birthday. She had bought it without knowing that there was a two-word dedication on the inside cover, ‘For Charlotte’. At that moment, I knew that if ever I took the leap into making theatre, I would try and bring this story back to life for everyone to enjoy. This story holds the truth of how highly Peter values his family and home, which can often be lost in the traditional version, and a secret, that you need not run away from growing up to find that ‘to live is an awfully big adventure’.

Are you looking forward to performing in Iris Theatre's new indoor performance space, The POD?

I’m so excited to be bringing the show to The POD. I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare and of classical adaptations and have always been aware of the company making both kinds of work in The Actors’ Church in Covent Garden - theatre’s heartland - so I have long aspired to work with Iris Theatre. I never imagined I would be joining them with my own play. Their commitment to supporting early career artists by sharing access to this space is so wonderful for young creatives like us, allowing exciting (and excited) new voices to join the conversation in the esteemed company and the long-established tradition of wonderful work on the West End. 

How was the creative process from conception to stage?

I first discovered the story in 2014 and it lay dormant as an idea until 2018 when I decided to take the leap into making my own work. With the rights secure, I set myself a deadline by booking a venue in Edinburgh and then began to write. In the book, a narrator and a child tell the story of Peter Pan’s early adventures back and forth; 

“The following is our way with a story: First I tell it to him, and then he tells it to me, the understanding being that it is quite a different story; and then I retell it with his additions, and so we go on until no one could say whether it is more his story or mine” (Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens)

This structure gave me the idea of using the character of Mary as a predecessor to Wendy, hearing the story from her father, who himself had heard it as a boy.

With this framing, we were released to ‘play out’ Peter’s early story and introduce a whole host of new characters Barrie had imagined. The first draft took a month and was the hardest to complete, but the story itself deals with doubt and faith, at one point Peter’s doubt causes him to lose his ability to fly, and he’s told ‘to have faith is to have wings’ which made comforting themes to have for company with a fledgling idea. 

Then came three months of production; set design, props, set building, costume design and sourcing, sound, lighting, readings, rehearsal and development not to mention production needs of marketing and PR. We previewed at The Drayton Arms in London and Moat Brae (Barrie’s ‘Enchanted Garden’ and the place he credits as the ‘genesis’ of his Peter Pan) before opening the show in Edinburgh. From there, the show was invited out to Poland and franchised to Alaska before what became our cancelled UK tour in March 2020. In the meantime, we worked with brilliant composer Patrick Neil Doyle to add in the original songs I had always imagined for the show. We have been lucky to be able to reawaken the show this summer and cannot wait to share it with audiences in Covent Garden this winter.

How have rehearsals been going? 

Because the show premiered in 2019 and has been back touring for a few months, rehearsals are mostly spent keeping everything sharp. Since Covid, home has become our rehearsal space and it’s pretty funny having a huge tree and park bench in your front room. Daniel Arbon, who plays George, is my husband so rehearsals really are a family affair. Luckily, we met each other working and have worked together several times on different things since so we are quite easily able to switch into professional mode and work well together, both on Betwixt-and-Between and Dan’s Film production company Middle Realm Productions. 

You play both Mary and Peter in the show. How does this multi-rolling work?

As said above, the show is framed within the story of Mary, who has run away and her father, George (Daniel Arbon) who finds her tells her the incredible origin story of Peter Pan. It works just like a game with George starting the story-telling and Mary quickly taking on the role of Peter in the tale, which they play out together.

Daniel, as George, takes on all the other characters and brilliantly transforms on stage from Solomon Caw, the talking crow, to Mab, Queen of the Fairies, to Peter’s Mother as they chart Peter’s story. We had such a lot of fun finding ways to create all these characters from the things Mary had packed in her basket when she left home and transforming the world of the park into the different places they visit. A lot of adults enjoy watching the relationship between the Father and his daughter and for many children who have grown up with screens and electronic toys, the show is an ode to the power of storytelling and imaginative play. 

Do you have any plans for the show following your run with Iris Theatre?

At the moment, the run at Iris Theatre is the last of our current plans for the show so I would say “don’t miss out!” - but at one point we thought it’d end in Edinburgh, so I’ve learnt that you never know who’s watching or what will happen next! 

However, I’m also excited and feel ready to start work on my next production which is a completely original story, so the focus might come off Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens for a while - we’ll have to see. There’s a lovely line in one of our songs, “don’t be scared of where you’re going, just believe in magic knowing, that a fearless heart will keep you freely soaring” and whenever I sing it, it reminds me to keep going and enjoy the journey wherever it leads. 

How would you encourage people to book tickets for your show?

If you are a family with young children - come! 

If you’re a grown up and want to reconnect with the wonder and possibility of childhood - come!

If you like theatre with songs, dancing, puppets and story-telling at its heart - come!

If you are looking for a festive evening out in the perfect location for a nice meal, seasonal lights and perhaps some cheeky Christmas shopping - come!

If you know about Peter Pan but have never heard about the bit where he sailed in a nest, lived in the park with talking birds or met the Queen of the Fairies- come!

Whoever you are, we’ve crammed 60 minutes full of music and magic, with themes of finding faith and family - it’s fun, it’s witty, it’s nostalgic and been enjoyed by up to four generations together from ages 3-93 - so please think about coming along!

With every ticket you buy, you can know you are supporting a young company at the very start of their journey and a wonderful new venue which will bring new work into the heart of London, hopefully for a long time to come.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens plays in The POD at the Actor’s Church from 29 November-4 December 2021, with tickets available here.