Leaf

“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. Dreams are forever.” – J. M. Barrie

It is my belief that there are probably very few in this world who have not heard of Peter Pan. I suspect that you were well aquainted with this beloved character long before you found this, whether it be from the stage play, the books, the films or the pantomime adaptions. In all honesty I cannot remember the first time I heard the magical story of the orphan boy who lived on a fantastical island and refused to grow up. For me though, Peter Pan was a story that I grew up with, my father read it to me more than once and I could recount the entire tale from memory. I was captivated by the story and it helped to mould the person I am today.

I was raised into a theatrical family and saw the stage play performed again and again, where the characters actually flew over the stage (Safely on wires and harnesses of course) and I longed to be just like them. In fact it wasn't long before I had that opportunity, cast as the title role in Peter Pan when I was nine. By then I had seen all the films, Hook had only just been released that year and I grew my hair, donned green stockings and Peter became a part of me.

Essentially, I believe that J. M. Barrie's tale is about the incandescence and pure beauty of children. At one point in his book he describes what he calls the attractiveness of school children and the selfishness of their innocence. This is something I think many people here can relate to and I have tried to capture as much of this in my story as I could. In writing this story I have focused on a single scene from J. M. Barrie's original theatrical production, which you maybe suprised to learn was actually staged before he wrote and published the book, and long, long before Disney purchased the legal rights to the franchise. It is said that Walt Disney was also a massive fan of Peter Pan as a child and saw the stage play many times.

The story you have read here is my own adaption of the story, but while it is based upon the original stage play rather than the book or films, it remains entirely an original story that has been updated ansd set in the modern era. My hope is that this adaption will give you a different perspective on this classic wonder of fiction writing. As such, I have included some original quotes from the stage play, as well as some from the book and subsequent sequels, spin offs and movie adaptions.

Anyway, I wish to thank you for reading Leaf, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I welcome all comments and feedback so plwease leave a reviiew with you thoughts.

Mek

“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” - Peter Pan