Skip to main content
Text on the right says "Schulich Children's Plays Wendy and Peter Pan Digital Study Guide". On the left, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks, Jake Runeckles and Laura Condlln. Photograhpy by Ted Belton.

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS SPONSORED BY

2020_CL_New

Wendy and Peter Pan

ABOUT THE PLAY

 

Schulich Children's Play's
Wendy and Peter Pan

Adapted by Ella Hickson
From the book by J.M. Barrie
North American Première
Directed by Thomas Morgan Jones
Choreographed by Jera Wolfe

House Program


Grade Recommendation Grade 4+


Content Advisory

The play deals with some mature content include the death of a child, grief, genocide, colonialism, displacement and patriarchal oppression. It includes staged violence and depictions of death as well as adult alcohol consumption and intoxication. Please see the show page for a detailed audience advisory.

Synopsis

Ella Hickson's smash adaptation of J.M. Barrie's beloved Peter Pan puts Wendy centre stage in a reimagined journey to Neverland, home of Tiger Lily, Hook and the Lost Boys. Join Wendy Darling, Peter Pan and all your favourite characters in this thoroughly modern adventure that delivers the same unforgettable thrills, spills and fairy dust of the original tale.

Curriculum Connections

Global Competencies

  • Citizenship, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Metacognition, Self-Awareness

Grade 4-8

  • The Arts
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Language
  • Science and Technology
  • Social Studies, History and Geography

Grade 9-12

  • The Arts
  • Canadian and World Studies
  • English
  • First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Technological Education

Grade 11-12

  • Social Sciences and Humanities

Post-Secondary

  • Suitable for courses in disciplines such as Arts, Cultural Studies, Child Development, Children's Literature, Creative Writing, Drama, English, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, Indigenous Studies, Social Development Studies, Teacher Education and Theatre

 

Themes

  • Courage and Facing Your Fears
  • Dance and Combat as Physical Languages
  • Family, Parents and Children
  • Finding Your Voice 
  • Freedom and Flight 
  • Gender and Empowerment 
  • Grief, Loss and Change 
  • Happy Thoughts and Gratitude 
  • The History and Power of Feminism 
  • Justice, Healing and Forgiveness 
  • Imagination and Play 
  • What It Means to Grow Up
  • What Makes a Home

 

DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS

 

PRE-SHOW QUESTIONS

  • What do you already know about the story of Peter Pan? Knowing that this play tells the story from Wendy's perspective, what do you hope might be different from the original? What do you hope will stay the same? What do you imagine Neverland might be like?
  • How do you know the difference between right and wrong? What is fairness or justice?
  • What does it mean to be a child? What does it mean to be an adult?
  • Would you want to stay the age you are now forever? Why or why not?
  • What are the positive aspects of "growing up"? What might be hard about it?
  • What does freedom feel like? Are kids more or less free than adults? Why do you think this is the case?
  • The family in the play, the Darlings, are experiencing grief (after Tom, the youngest child in the family, dies from a serious illness). Grief is a common and normal response for children and adults when they experience loss, and it can look and feel different for everyone. How would you describe what grief feels like? How might it feel in someone's body?
  • What are the different ways we can share feelings with our friends and family?
  • What advice would you give a friend who is experiencing grief? How would you help them?
  • What stories have you heard about what happens after death? What different cultural or spiritual beliefs do people have about the afterlife? Why do you think people have different ideas about this?
  • What does it mean to be courageous? What helps you have courage? Can courage look different in different situations?
  • Why might people pretend to feel happy, strong or courageous when inside they actually feel sad, weak or afraid? Is this a good thing to do? Why or why not?
  • What is feminism? How has feminism changed over time and place? Why does feminism matter to you?
  • What do you know about the suffragette movement during which this play takes place? When did women living in what we call Canada get the right to vote? Was this date true for all women, or were some women not permitted to vote until later? Explain why you think this might have happened.
  • What does home mean to you? Share five things that can make home a happy place.
  • In the play, happy thoughts make some of the characters fly. If you wanted to fly, what would you think of; what is your happiest thought?
  • What stories have you heard about stars?
  • In your opinion, what makes a good adventure story?

POST-SHOW QUESTIONS

  • In the play, Peter says: "remembering is old and heavy and feels all ugh inside," and Wendy says, "forgetting is cold and heartless and awful." Why do you think they have such different ideas?
  • In your opinion, was there a hero in the play? Explain your thinking using examples.
  • What did you notice about the bravery of the characters in the play?
  • Many of the characters in the play have specific ideas about what it means to be a boy or a girl. Where do you think they got their ideas about gender? Where do we get our information about gender? How have understandings of gender changed over time and place?
  • This is a retelling of J.M. Barrie's original story. There are many other stage and screen adaptations, many of which are rightly criticized for racist representations of Indigeneity. In comparison to other adaptations you have seen, what did you think of the representation of Tiger Lily in this production? If you were to adapt the original story, what would you change?
  • Explore the theme of imagination in the story. What role does it play in the characters' lives? Is imagination always a positive force? Explain your thinking using examples from the play.
  • What do the characters learn about home? What does home mean to you?
  • What do the characters learn about teamwork and leadership? What makes someone a good team player? What makes someone a good leader? In your opinion, which characters made the best team players/leaders? Use examples from the play to support your thinking.
  • In what ways do the adults in the play help or hinder the children? What, if anything, do you wish they had done differently?
  • Wendy shares that her mother used to tell her: "Follow your heart," and "Trust your instinct." Which characters did you notice doing this in the play? Do you think that this is easy or hard to do? Explain why.
  • What does it mean to be a true friend? What are some qualities of a good friendship? List all of the friendships you noticed in the play and share which one/s you felt were examples of good friendships.
  • How were the Shadows portrayed in the production? In your opinion, what do the Shadows represent?
  • Are there any unintentional harms that might be caused through the production of this play? If so, what are they and what might be done to take care of the artists and audience members participating in the work?

MINDS ON

Objective: Students will learn about gratitude as a practice to realize happy thoughts.

Materials:

  • Writing utensils and paper/cue cards
  • Computer access
  • Black/whiteboard and/or chalk/markers

Directions:

  1. Ask students what "gratitude" means to them.
  2. Ask students what "happiness" means to them.
  3. Invite students to watch one of these videos about gratitude:
  4. Working as a whole class, in pairs or in small groups, invite students to try one or all of the following gratitude practices. Remind students before starting any of these exercises to make sure that at least part of what they write down/note are things they are comfortable sharing with their peers or teachers.
    • Sensory Gratitude: Invite students to write down five things they are grateful for in the current moment in their classroom/learning space, each one corresponding to one of their five senses. Ask students to try this in different spaces throughout the week including at home, outside or in other places in which they spend a lot of time. Afterward, ask them to share what they noticed about how their relationship to each of these places changed after trying this.
    • Kiss Your Brain: For a week, invite students to notice at least three moments every day when they want to kiss their brain as a gesture of gratitude for something their brain helped them do (e.g. remembering something, trying something new, saying something smart, moving their body in a particular way, etc.). Invite students to both write down these moments and do a physical gesture to acknowledge their brain (e.g. kissing their hand and then tapping their head, blowing a kiss to their brain).
    • Worry, Thankful, Goal: Every day for a whole week, invite students to write down one worry they want to let go of, one specific think they are thankful for and one small goal they have for their day. At the end of the week, ask students what they noticed about their emotional/mental well-being and whether anything had changed.
    • Timed Gratitude Letter: Invite students to think of one important person in their life who has had or continues to have a big and positive impact on them. This could be a friend or a family member, a teacher or a coach. Ask students to spend five minutes writing about this person, focusing on what makes them wonderful and important to them. After students have completed their letters, invite them to share all or part of what they've written either with each other in small groups or, if possible, with their chosen people. Ask students to reflect and share about how they felt before, during writing and after sharing the letter.

 Debriefing Questions:

  • Did it surprise you to learn that gratitude and happiness are so connected? Why or why not?
  • If you tried more than one gratitude practice, share which was your favourite as well as the reasons why.
  • How might gratitude practices look or feel different during times of grief, stress or sadness?

Possible Extensions:

Gratitude in Role

After the play, invite students to try the same gratitude practices in role as Wendy and/or Peter.

Gratitude Commitment

As a class, choose one gratitude practice to commit to doing for a whole month and then reflect on the impact of the experience, deciding together what you want to continue or try differently going forward.

CONNECTION TO THE ARCHIVES

In 2010, the Stratford Festival produced Peter Pan with Sara Topham as Wendy Darling. If you saw this production or are familiar with the original, what changes do you expect there might be between the two especially when it comes to the character of Wendy?

Peter Pan, 2010

Sara Topham as Wendy in Peter Pan, 2010. Written by J.M. Barrie. Directed by Tim Carroll. Designed by Carolyn M. Smith. Lighting design by Kevin Fraser. Photograph by David Hou. Stratford Festival Archives, GPO.2010.008.016

 

The Stratford Festival's Archives maintains, conserves and protects records about the Festival and makes those materials available to people around the world. Their collection contains material ranging from 1952 right up to the present and includes administrative documents, production records, photographs, design artwork, scores, audio-visual recordings, promotional materials, costumes, props, set decorations and much more. These materials are collected and preserved with the aim of documenting the history of the Festival, preserving the page-to-stage process, and capturing the creative processes involved in numerous other activities that contribute to the Festival each season.

 

RESOURCES

Study Guide PDF

Stratford Public Library's Wendy and Peter Pan Reading List

 

Study Guides

View Study Guides for selected 2024 plays along with those from previous seasons free of charge on our website.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Peter Pan

How a New Peter Pan Adaptation Confronts Its Racist Origins | TIME

J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan Premieres in London | History Daily

Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie with Illustrations by F.D. Bedford | Project Gutenberg

Peter Pan still hasn't grown up, but Tiger Lily has changed | NPR

The Racist History of Peter Pan's Indian Tribe | Smithsonian Magazine

Why J.M. Barrie Created Peter Pan | The New Yorker

Feminism & Gender

Essential Reads on Feminism for Kids | New York Public Library

A Guide To Gender Identity Terms | NPR

Ruth B's "Lost Boy" | Music Video

What is Feminism? I Feminism explained simply | LondonCityGirl

Women on the March: A Lesson Plan on Imagining the Future of Feminism | The New York Times

The Women's Suffrage Movement | National Geographic for Kids

5 Things to Know to Make Your Feminism Trans-Inclusive | Human Rights Campaign

Grief & Gratitude

An Experiment in Gratitude: The Science of Happiness | SoulPancake

Grief Talk: Talking to Children About Death and Dying | National Alliance for Children's Grief

How to help a friend dealing with grief | Kids Help Phone

How to talk to your kids about Death: An age-by-age guide | Today's Parent

Kiss your brain: The science of gratitude by Christina Costa | TEDxUofM

Practicing Gratitude (and 10 things I'm grateful for) | RocketKids

Supporting Grieving Native American Children and Families | Sesame Workshop

The Two Minute Morning Rule For Having A Great Day with Neil Pasricha

 

Booking Information: Student Matinées, InterACTive Preshows, Workshops & Chats

Student Matinées

You may book any available date, but selected student matinée performances for this show are at 12:30 p.m. or 2 p.m. on the following dates:

12:30 p.m.

  • Thursday, June 6
  • Wednesday, June 12
  • Wednesday, June 19
  • Wednesday, October 2
  • Friday, October 18
  • Wednesday, October 23

2 p.m.

  • Tuesday, May 21
  • Thursday, May 23
  • Tuesday, May 28
  • Thursday, May 30
  • Tuesday, June 4
  • Friday, June 14
  • Friday, June 21
  • Friday, September 13
  • Wednesday, September 18
  • Friday, September 20
  • Tuesday, September 24
  • Wednesday, September 25
  • Friday, September 27
  • Thursday, October 3
  • Tuesday, October 8
  • Wednesday, October 9
  • Wednesday, October 16
  • Friday, October 25

 

InterACTive Preshows

Led by artists appearing in the matinée, these high-energy sessions provide students the opportunity to explore key themes, questions and technical aspects of productions on the Festival's renowned stages. $4 per student (free for Teaching Stratford Program participants)

11 a.m.-noon on the following dates:

  • Tuesday, June 4
  • Friday, June 14
  • Tuesday, September 24
  • Friday, September 27 *Technical Theatre-Focused: Rather than exploring the play's themes, characters and questions, this session focuses on technical theatre and is ideal for students interested in the inner workings of theatre production and understanding the magic that happens back/offstage.
  • Thursday, October 3
  • Tuesday, October 8
  • Wednesday, October 16
  • Friday, October 25

For more information, visit  stratfordfestival.ca/InterACTive.

 

Workshops & Chats

Workshops and Chats (virtual, onsite or at your school/centre) can be booked by calling the Box Office at 1.800.567.1600 or by emailing educate@stratfordfestival.ca.

Pre-Show Workshops customized to your students' needs and interests are available from 10-11 a.m. or 11 a.m.-noon before selected matinées. $10 per student. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca/Workshops.

Half-Hour Post-Show Chats with cast and creative team members are available after selected matinées. $3 per student. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca/Chats.

 

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS SPONSORED BY

Canada-Life_White(1)

Tools for Teachers includes InterACTive Preshows, Study Guides and Stratford Shorts.       

THE 2024 SEASON IS SUPPORTED BY OPHELIA LAZARIDIS.

 PROUD SEASON PARTNERS:

2019_BMO_White            RBC_White(1)

PRODUCTION SPONSORS:

THE SCHULICH FOUNDATION

SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVES IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY THE ESTATE OF NOELLE SAVILLE, LAURIE J. SCOTT AND AN ANONYMOUS DONOR.