Magical story gets theatrical retelling

WITH the first episode already live, the Ballarat National Theatre plan to continue delivering their theatrical podcast adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan for weeks to come.

Each episode, equivalent to one chapter of the book, is set to be released once a week each Friday until the 19 chapters are completed.

Elizabeth Bradford is one of the project’s directors said because the story of Peter Pan is all about leaving reality behind in place for magic, the current post-pandemic context was the perfect time to re-tell the much-loved tale.

“The initial proposal to Ballarat National Theatre for consideration as part of their 2021 season happened during production for the Pride and Prejudice podcast presented by Liana Skewes and Olivia French,” Ms Bradford said.

“Another audiobook adaptation seemed like it would be a safe option with online rehearsals and recording from home.

“Though lines were recorded from the east coast to the west coast of Australia, each episode will feel like we are all together, not just connecting us to our audience but to each other.”

Seeking to preserve the spirit of the source material, Bradford said the BNT podcast adaptation remains faithful to the most important elements of what makes Barrie’s novel a classic.

“Our adaptation of the story focuses on accessing the darker themes in Barrie’s writing with leitmotifs and character development, but also exploring the magic and providing entertainment,” she said.

“The story is still set in England in the early 1900s and our adult cast have been working hard on their accents to help build the imagery for our audience.

“However, the racism in the novel has also been addressed by re-working the narrative that Barrie presented of the Indian tribe, so instead, in our adaptation, the Neverlanders are the people indigenous to the Neverland.”

Similarly to the earlier Pride and Prejudice podcast, Ms Bradford said both the production team and actors worked online from all around the state, some even interstate.

“Our cast went through two months of weekly online rehearsals, working through chapter-by-chapter with our directors, and have recorded their dialogue in their home studios,” she said.

“Our production team is made up of eight people, three directors, a production manager, two assistant production managers, one sound editor and a social media manager and putting a single episode together takes at least 50 hours, it’s a lot of hours on top of our busy schedules.

“Coming together remotely has presented several challenges, but getting to know our cast and production team virtually throughout the process of production has been such a positive experience.”

For more information or to listen to the Peter Pan Podcast, visit bnt.org.au.