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M abou Mines’ innovative, bittersweet adaptation of JM Barrie’s fantastic tale is brought to vivid life by performer Karen Kandel and seven puppeteers, accompanied by Johnny Cunningham’s original musical score, played live on stage by a seven piece band. The Washington Post described it as ‘a profoundly magical piece’ while the New York Times hailed Mabou Mines as ‘indisputably among the most influential experimental ensembles of our time.’
Why is the story of Barrie’s Peter and Wendy so enduring? I see the story as Barrie’s autobiography in code and his life ended as a tragedy. The story is that when Barrie’s brother died as a child the mother went mad and would only recognise Barrie if he imitated his brother’s voice as a little boy hence Barrie could not ever grow up if he wanted to be loved. It is a very compelling story.
Why did Mabou Mines decide to adapt it for the stage? Though many people know the story of Peter Pan, as far as we are aware no-one has ever adapted the novel of Peter and Wendy for the stage before, so it was appealing in that we were the first people to tackle it. There are many layers to the story and so many themes and meanings, making it rich material for us to adapt.
How did you set about adapting it? We knew right from the start that we wanted to use puppets rather than a cast made up solely of actors. We have utilised a special blending of two classic puppet theatre techniques – Japanese Bunraku and Balinese Wayang Kulit plus we’ve added a performing dimension of our own, so that we have actor Karen Kandel performing along with seven brilliant puppeteers. It is actually a very complex monologue with music, brilliantly acted by Karen Kandel. Tell us more about the two puppet techniques? The Bunraku technique is the visual form where each puppet is manipulated by a team of three puppeteers. Wayang Kulit is the vocal form, where every character is acted by the same master storyteller as well as the narration. It is a narrative form hence it is Barrie’s novel that we have used and not his earlier play.
The story of Peter Pan has enchanted children and adults alike for more than a century. What is the appeal of Peter and Wendy for the audience? The themes that Barrie is dealing with are universal – he deals with everyone’s fantasy of pre-pubescent romance, and perfect love, that is the purity of a mother’s love. We can all relate to these themes. These ideas and fantasies are the building blocks of human nature. The story chimes with us all, the mourning of childhood as we become adults and the nostalgia for lost illusions. Is this a happy, hopeful piece or a sad, dark story? Sad perhaps. It isn’t dark so much as it is chiaroscuro (meaning the use of contrasting effects of light and shade in a work of art).
What does it say about growing up? Is passing into adulthood a good or a bad thing in Barrie’s eyes? Passing into adulthood is a fate worse than death in Barrie’s eyes.
Which characters feature in your production of Peter and Wendy and can you tell us a little about each of them? Peter is ‘inspiration’, the most inspired of years is considered. We have Hook who is ‘nemesis’ or the antithesis of Peter. And Tinker Bell is beyond good and evil. Then there is Wendy who is ‘everywoman’ and who has to face the reality of ageing.
What were the challenges you faced in staging Peter and Wendy? It is always difficult to dramatise a novel and keep the narrative voice. But I think we have succeeded in being true to the original. The major challenge was the staging of dialogue between Karen and each puppet character. The blocking had to include a turning upstage or hiding of the mouth whenever the puppet spoke so the audience would not be distracted by Karen’s lip movements and shift attention to the puppet. The story of Peter Pan has been told so often and so well – and often with very big budgets – over the years. Did this fact intimidate you in any way? This might seem surprising but the answer is no. We knew right from the beginning that we had something totally original. It has never been told this way and I don’t believe the book – which is far richer than the play – has ever been dramatised.
Other than your own, what is your favourite telling of the story – has there been a TV, movie or stage version you’ve loved? I purposely avoided seeing other versions of the story so that I wouldn’t be influenced, so I actually have no favorites. Though I was quite interested in the series JM Barrie and the Lost Boys and I saw the Depp movie [2004’s Finding Neverland with Kate Winslett].
What is Barrie’s skill as a storyteller? Does the piece feel very Scottish to you? Barrie’s skill as a storyteller is definitely a Celtic skill. He has no peers. I think it is very, very Scottish and I hope we have emphasised that through the use of Johnny Cunningham’s wonderful music and the Celtic musicians we have who sing and play it. [Edinburgh-born musician Johnny Cunningham created the music for this Mabou Mines adaptation before his death from a heart attack in 2003]. Lastly, you’ve been performing this piece for years but never before in Barrie’s birthplace. How do you feel about bringing it to JM Barrie’s birth country? In a way it is like bringing coals to Newcastle but in another way it is like bringing it home. In all honesty, we are absolutely petrified about bringing it to Scotland but fear does have its special excitement.
Peter and Wendy, Royal Lyceum Theatre, 473 2000, 2–5 Sep, 7.30pm (5 Sep 2.30pm), £10–£25.
Festival Theatre
POETRY IN MOTION
Yasmin Sulaiman talks to the renowned Israeli director helming a theatre production adapted from a 16th century Scottish poem
Robert Burns might be the subject of many Homecoming events this year, but Jonathan Mills’ decision to focus on the lesser-known Scottish poet Robert Henryson as part of the Edinburgh International Festival’s 2009 programme could prove a rewarding one. Directed by David Levin, Israel’s most famous theatre-maker, and performed by celebrated Scottish actor Jimmy Yuill, The Testament of Cresseid adapts Henryson’s 1590 poem of the same name – a pre-Shakespeare take on Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde – for the stage, the first time that the work has been professionally performed.
‘Jonathan offered me a script of The
Testament of Cresseid,’ Levin explains, ‘and I was absolutely astonished because I’m not Scottish. I told him I would only do it if I found a theatrical way to do so because what’s the sense in reciting an old poem? We come to the theatre in order to share a certain experience and not to be lectured at. It’s quite a challenge to take a poem like this and to try to turn it into a moving experience that an audience of today can share.’
Despite its tragic plot, Levin is convinced that the piece – adapted from Henryson’s plain Middle Scots – will appeal to modern viewers and part of this success can be attributed to his casting of Yuill in the primary role. ‘It’s a huge part and a huge challenge, but I didn’t want a so-called star,’ he says. ‘Jimmy Yuill is someone that I’ve worked with before and I think he’s a fantastic actor. He’s the kind of actor that injects great humanity into whatever he does.’ And while he claims to be very pleased with the results, the director is unwilling to accept recognition for the production’s existence: ‘I think this idea of adapting the poem has been in [Jonathan’s] mind for a long time. He was trying to find something that belongs to this country, written in this country, and had never been done professionally before. I give him all the credit.’ ■ The Testament of Cresseid, The Hub, 473 2000, 29 Aug–5 Sep (not 1), 8pm, £17 (£8.50).
27 Aug–10 Sep 2009 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 95