Tonight we saw Peter Pan in Regents Park. This open air space theatre was absolutely stunning and I was thankful we experienced enjoyable weather for tonight’s show. The set design, choreography, and cast all curated a production that made me not even realize we were in an outdoor space. I felt as if I was in “Neverland” the entire time. This production also incorporated a storyline of Wendy post war and several scenes of the “lost boys” actually dealing with being enlisted in the military. I found this narrative element to be extremely emotionally engaging. The plot of Peter Pan also began to make a lot more sense to me in connecting the lost boys and Peter wanting to escape the reality of the war. The puppets used in the production were also incredible. The usage of space and choreography was whimsical to watch. I think the open air venue made for a wonderful experience. I felt as if I was actually in “Neverland” with the lost boys and Wendy because of the nature that surrounded us. I think for this specific play the meaning of Peter Pan was more fulfilling to be in this sort of dreamy park setting. I think the audience definitely were fully engaged and not distracted by the surroundings as well. I also found myself appreciating the ways the cast and crew operated more in maintaining the stage illusion even in the open air stage space. The world of Peter Pan was not broken in the midst of an outdoor environment. Sometimes when I go into a theatre I like to imagine it’s this safe box of creativity and stories and delving into the human experience in this world separated from outside the theatre doors. This was my first theatre experience in an outdoor venue and to my pleasant surprise that beautiful and secret world that theatre brings me was still in tact because of the efforts of the director, cast, crew, and creativity that went into this production. Seeing Peter Pan in Regents Park was not only a lovely experience to physically watch, it was emotionally reassuring in the ways that this beautiful world of theatre I hold so dearly to my heart does not have to be solely kept within the walls of an indoor stage. Theatre breathes and moves and engages just the same in open air. I’ll end this blog post with one of my favorite lines in Peter Pan… “To live will be an awfully big adventure” – J.M. Barrie. Theatre makes me feel like I can still grow up and live in playful world of my own version of “Neverland” forever. I do not want to lose that feeling.
Cheers,
Rachel
