KENSINGTON GARDENS - Peter Pan

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CHARACTER BREAKDOWNJ M Barrie wrote in great detail about the various characters in Peter Pan, both in the stage directions to hisearly versions of the play, and in the novels Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter Pan and Wendy. Theseare a great resource. Although not all the characters in this version of Peter Pan are identical to Barrie’s visionof them, I have included some of his descriptions in italics as part of the following character breakdown.THE DARLING FAMILYThe Darling house in Barrie’s original version was at the top of a rather depressed street in Bloomsbury,London. In this version it has been moved to Kensington Gardens. The three children share a Nursery at thetop of the house. We are led to believe that the Darlings are not particularly rich and that having three childrenhas put strain on their finances. Mrs Darling has made her own evening dress and Mr Darling comments thatPeter’s shadow could be worth some money and congratulates Mrs Darling for keeping it. The Darlings providethe audience’s passport to Never Land. They are from the real world, like us, and we experience this magicalworld for the first time through their eyes. They ask the questions we might ask and experience fears that wetoo would share.Nana:Michael:A Newfoundland Dog who has been taken on as a Nanny for the three Darling children.Having a Nanny to help care for your children was customary in homes of this type in 1904.The Darling’s however do not have enough money to hire a conventional one.“She proved to be quite a treasure of a Nurse... It was lesson inpropriety to see her escorting the children to school, walking sedately bytheir side when they were well-behaved, and butting them back into lineif they strayed ”J M BarrieThe youngest of the Darling children, age 6. He is inquisitive and playful and he looks up tohis older sister.“Father first, said Michael, who was of a suspicious nature.”J M BarrieJohn: The second youngest of the Darling children, age 10.“He was quite a practical boy”J M BarrieWendy:Mrs Darling:Her full name is Wendy Moira Angela Darling, the eldest age 12. The play is set on her lastnight in the children’s nursery before she moves to a room of her own. She knows that shemust grow up.“She was a tidy child... and always glad to be of service.”J M BarrieHer first name is Mary and mother to the three children. It is suggested in this version thatshe has been to Never Land with Peter Pan herself as a child, Peter calls Wendy “Mary” bymistake during their flight to Never Land.16
“She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweetmocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one withinthe other, that come from the puzzling East; however many you discoverthere is always one more... and she loved to have everything just so.”J M BarrieMr Darling:First name George, married to Mary Darling and father of Wendy, John and Michael. He worksin an office in the City of London. He is suspicious that Nana and the children don’t respecthim very much and this makes him a little uneasy.“He is really a good man as breadwinner’s go,... at home the way togratify him is to say that he has a distinct personality.”“He was one of those deep ones who new about stocks and shares. Ofcourse no one really knows, but he often said stocks were up and shareswere down in a way that would have made any woman respect him.”“… had a passion for being exactly like his neighbours.”J M BarrieJane:Wendy’s daughter.NEVER LANDERSNever Land is a magical island and home to many different groups of people, fairies and animals. Peter describesits location as “second to the right and straight on till morning”. It is the creation of every child’s imagination.“It is very compact, not large and sprawly with tedious distancesbetween one adventure and another, but nicely crammed.”J M BarriePeter Pan:The boy that never grew up. Peter ran away to Kensington Gardens on the day he was bornand lived there for a long while, with the fairies. He overheard his parents talking about whathe would be when he grew up, but he knew he wanted to be a boy forever and to have fun.He now lives in Never Land and is the Captain of the Lost Boys. He is the sworn enemy ofCaptain Hook after he cut off the pirate’s left hand and flung it into the jaws of the crocodileduring a fight. He is a creature of the elements and an expert at flying.“It is humiliating to have to confess that this conceit of Peter was one ofhis most fascinating qualities. To put it with brutal frankness, there wasnever a cockier boy.”“No one could ever look quite so merry as Peter, and the loveliest ofgurgles was his laugh. He had his first laugh still.”J M Barrie17
Page 3 and 4: SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN J M BARRIE’
Page 5 and 6: Before writing Peter Pan, Barrie ha
Page 7 and 8: Kirsty: Is it totally staged In The
Page 9 and 10: SCENE BY SCENE SYNOPSISEach scene h
Page 11 and 12: Lost BoysOn the ground, waiting for
Page 13 and 14: herself at his feet thanking him fo
Page 15: wants to come back with him to live
Page 19 and 20: THE PIRATESThe enemies of the Lost
Page 21 and 22: FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIESPeter Pan is a
Page 23 and 24: Exercise 2: Key Stage 1, 2 + 3Ask i
Page 25 and 26: Mrs. Darling:Peter:Mrs. Darling:Pet
Page 27 and 28: Exercise 3: Key stage 4What situati
Page 29 and 30: Exercise 2: Key stage 3 + 4Ask the
Page 31 and 32: NEVER POEMDiscussionAsk the student
Page 33 and 34: Exercise 3Ask the students to walk
Page 35: Peter: Yes.Wendy: Really?Peter: Yes

KENSINGTON GARDENS - Peter Pan

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