Issued: 02 December 2004
Happy Birthday Peter Pan
A SPECIAL Christmas display featuring the boy who never grew up has opened at Kirriemuir Gateway to the Glens Museum.
Happy Birthday Peter Pan, tells the story of how Kirrie's own JM Barrie invented a unique character.
Most of us know Peter Pan from childhood books, or through films like Disney's Peter Pan and Neverland, the current blockbuster, starring Johnny Depp, but in fact it was the magic of theatre that first brought Pan to life.
Barrie's ambitious and magical play - Peter Pan, or the Boy who never grew up had its first night on 27 December 1904.
It was a wonderful production - the characters flew through the air, there were tremendous fight scenes between that marvellous villain Captain Hook and the daring Pan.
In the best tradition of Christmas theatre, there was audience participation, as the theatre goers brought Tinkerbell back to life by clapping their hands and insisting that they do believe in fairies.
The museum display tells the story of the play and looks at how Peter Pan has 'grown up' since then.
As well as a reconstruction of a scene from the play, with Mr Darling saying goodnight to Wendy, oblivious to the figure of Peter Pan at the window, the National Trust for Scotland at Barrie's Birthplace has kindly lent us an original Peter Pan script and one of the beautiful 1904 posters for the play.
We have also been kindly lent, by members of the community Peter Pan memorabilia including many of the book versions of Peter Pan - it is fascinating to see how different book illustrators have imagined Peter Pan over the century since his 'birth'.
Visitors can also see, for the first time, a magnificent Edwardian evening cape from the museum collections, of the style that might have been worn by those first Peter Pan theatregoers in 1904.
The display runs until 15 January and visitors can come to the museum anytime between 10am and 5pm, Monday to Wednesday, Friday to Saturday and between 1pm and 5pm on Thursdays.
Over the festive season the museum is closed between 25 and 28 December and 1 and 4 January.