Oxford Playhouse to Present World Premiere of PETER PAN IN SCARLET, July 25

This summer marks the return of the Oxford Playhouse to middle scale producing with the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Peter Pan in Scarlet, the best-selling official sequel to JM Barrie's Peter Pan, written by Carnegie Medal and three times Whitbread Children's Book Award winner Geraldine McCaughrean. The book was originally commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity to whom Barrie gifted all rights to the character and original writings in 1929. The novel will be brought thrillingly to life by director and adapter Theresa Heskins, Artistic Director of the New Vic Theatre, and an award-winning team including Aerial Director, Vicki Amedume, Artistic Director of circus theatre company Upswing, composer and Musical Director, James Atherton and designer Liz Cooke.

It's 1929, and Wendy and the Lost Boys have all grown up when strange dreams begin to spill out of Neverland. When souvenirs of Neverland appear in their beds - cutlasses, mermaids & war paint - the Lost Boys realise that something must be wrong, and their friend Peter Pan needs their help. Wendy and the Lost Boys squeeze into their own children's clothes, shrink down to their former sizes and, armed only with fairy dust, fly back to Neverland for one last adventure. There are thrills, spills and much swash-buckling derring-do in this action packed spectacular as Tootles, Slightly, Wendy, John and Peter fight wild animals, quarrel with fairies, climb treacherous mountains and encounter curious characters like Ravello, a circus ringmaster and Fireflyer, the grumpy fairy.

Geraldine McCaughrean has written more than 160 books and her work has been translated into 45 languages worldwide. Her work includes many retellings of classic stories for children including The Odyssey, El Cid, The Canterbury Tales and Moby Dick. In 2004, to coincide with Peter Pan's centenary Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity launched a competition to find the author of a sequel. McCaughrean won the competition, after submitting a synopsis and a sample chapter. Peter Pan in Scarlet was released internationally on 5 October 2006 and has since been translated into 37 languages in 55 countries. McCaughrean has written many other children's fiction books including The Kite Rider,The White Darkness, Plundering Paradise and The Middle of Nowhere. Her historical novels for adults include: The Maypole, Fire's Astonishment, Vainglory, Lovesong and The Ideal Wife.

Theresa Heskins is the Artistic Director of the New Vic Theatre. Recent productions have included Kiss Me Quickstep, Robin Hood & Marian, Unearthed (developed in association with the National Theatre Studio; one of the Guardian's top Ten Regional productions of 2015), The Throne, Dracula (one of the Observer's Top Ten Productions of 2015), The Borrowers and Around the World in 80 Days in collaboration with Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre (nominated for 'Best Show for Children and Young People' in the 2014 UK Theatre Awards and the 2015 Manchester Theatre Awards 'Best Production'). Her adaptation of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, originally presented at the New Vic, has subsequently been produced by Northampton Theatres, the Kingston Rose and, last Christmas, by both the Edinburgh Lyceum and the Cardiff Sherman.

Summer 2016 sees the completion of a 3-year refurbishment programme at the Oxford Playhouse, with the new auditorium re-opening with Peter Pan in Scarlet after a 2-week run at the New Vic.

Peter Pan In Scarlet is the official sequel to J M Barrie's Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity and published by Oxford University Press. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity registered charity no. 1160024.

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