Tinkerbell (Grace Chen, left) and Peter (Jacob Miles) in Peter Pan at Limelight Theatre. Picture: Daniel Ade
Magic, pirates, fairies and other fantastical creatures come together in Limelight Theatre's production of
Peter Pan. Directed and adapted by Kathleen Del Casale from JM Barrie's original story, it follows Peter as he tries to retrieve his shadow.
He arrives with Tinkerbell in the nursery of Wendy, John and Michael Darling and together they embark on adventures in Neverland. "
Peter Pan is no better described than a story about 'the boy who never grew up'," Kathleen said.
Captain Hook (Chris Thurmott, second from left) with his pirates Jake Battle, Blake Torrens, Gabriella Kaden and Jay-Kay Davies in Peter Pan. Picture: Daniel Ade
"JM Barrie perfectly captures the innocence of childhood and how adulthood almost haunts it, lurking out of reach until it forces itself in. "But at the same time, it's a wonderful, fun, nostalgic and fantastical story."
Kathleen opted to do her own adaptation because she felt the 1904 original couldn't be staged with "ethical sensitivity". "Audiences will notice there are Amazon warriors now – with the most amazing costumes! – who have replaced some of the original characters," she said. "This also helped with casting because we often get a lot of females auditioning at the theatre."
The Amazon warriors (Mary Del Casale, Sarah Thillagaratnam, Federica Longo) are a new feature in Limelight Theatre's adaptation of Peter Pan. Picture: Daniel Ade
Acting for the past 15 years, Kathleen has performed, directed or written for Stargate Actors Academy, HEY Fever and Snapshot Youth, Agelink and Limelight Theatres. In 2012-13, she travelled to the UK to play May Gibbs in a touring production of
River Dreaming and followed it up in 2015-16 with
A Land of Legends.
Kathleen has been in numerous musicals including
Hairspray, Anything Goes, Sweet Charity, Greenwicks and
The Wedding Singer and has directed
Death of a Salesman and co-directed
Rock of Ages.
Lowri Bishop, Ethan Battle, Gwendolyn Swift, Sean Mudariki are the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. Picture: Daniel Ade
"Peter Pan is my favourite story," she said. "I fell in love with it when I first read it as a 12-year-old". "It really captured my imagination and has always stayed with me – my first tattoo was of the 'second star to the right' group of stars from the story.
"My amazing crew and I have put a lot of hours into creating Neverland and it will really transport people back to their childhood selves. "We've squeezed a huge amount of work into the rehearsal period and have some great stuff for our audiences to enjoy."
Peter Pan features Grace Chen, left, as Tinkerbell, Jacob Miles as Peter and Kaitlin Okely as Wendy. Picture: Daniel Ade
Grace Chen plays Tinkerbell. "
It's a multi-faceted role, requiring me to dance, choreograph and act," she said. "
The character has an honest, child-like quality about her."The main challenge is making sure my physicality is clear because Tinkerbell does not have any lines. I have to be able to tell the story without words but still convey Tinkerbell's thoughts using clear movements and mimes." Watch Grace in action as Tinkerbell.
Performing for 20 years, Grace started with the WA Youth Theatre Company, went on to appear in several short films and has been a corps de ballet member of the WA Classical Company and Perth City Ballet. She regularly performs with the Chung Wah Association to promote Chinese cultural dance to metropolitan and regional communities across WA. "Peter Pan was appealing because of the fantastical nature of the story," Grace said.
Ffion Bishop, left, and Adriana Herrera, Emma Fleming are fairies in Peter Pan. Picture: Daniel Ade
plays at 7.30pm November 26, 27, 28, December 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 with 2pm matinees November 28, December 5 and 12. Tickets are $23, $20 concession and $17 children – book at
www.limelighttheatre.com.au or call 0499 954 016 between 9am and 12pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Limelight Theatre is on Civic Drive, Wanneroo.
