About the show
Neverland Like You’ve Never Seen It
In this reimagining of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie’s classic is stripped of Edwardian nostalgia and plunged into a dreamlike, contemporary world where the borders between childhood and adulthood, fantasy and reality, are blurred. Think vintage jumpers and Nike sneakers, a twilight Neverland glimpsed “after the night lights were lit.”
Here, Wendy’s escape becomes an act of resistance against a future that feels frighteningly uncertain. Peter clings to make-believe with a desperate charm, but Wendy begins to see growing up isn’t a tragedy – it’s an act of courage.
Live video transforms the stage into a shimmering dreamscape of memory and longing. Audiences are swept into the thrill of eternal youth, but reminded that Neverland, no matter how seductive, was never meant to last.
This is Peter Pan for an anxious age – beautiful, fragile, and aching to wake up.
Forever young.
Dr Benjamin Schostakowski is an award-winning director, educator, and published playwright. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a Graduate Diploma of Dramatic Art in Directing in 2013 and holds a PhD in Creative Industries from Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
Benjamin’s directing career spans theatre, opera, and interdisciplinary performance. He has directed and collaborated with leading institutions including Channel 7, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, La Boite Theatre Company, NIDA, the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), and QUT. From 2009–2012, he served as Artistic Director of the Festival of Australian Student Theatre and was appointed Associate Artist of Queensland Theatre Company in 2011.
He is a regular director for major productions at NIDA, with credits including Reagan Kelly by Lewis Treston, Pool (No Water) by Mark Ravenhill, Carking It by Gretel Vella, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (adapted by David Farr and Gísli Örn Gardarsson), and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, which he adapted for the stage. He also directed and adapted The Seagull by Anton Chekhov and will direct a new adaptation of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.
– Benjamin Schostakowski
To be confirmed.
The Company
Principal Cast
Second Twin/Jane: Chemon Theys
Smee/Mrs Darling: Ginger Sansom
Hook/Mr Darling: James Thorn
Wendy Darling: Jasmine Phipps
Michael Darling: Jenny Guigayoma
Peter Pan: Reid Perry
First Twin/Mermaid: Zahara Jithoo
Understudies
Allegra Di Lallo
Amy Tustian
Corey Harvey
Feaven Kifle
Tom Farinazzo
Written and Directed by: Benjamin Schostakowski**
Costume, Set & Props Designer: Ella Wilkinson
Lighting Designer: Thomas Shepherd
Sound Designer: Jasmine Power
Video Designer: Taylah Crouch
Sound Systems: Eloise Tanti
Video Systems: Jonathan Ogilvie
Voice Coach: Robert Maxwell*
Assistant Director: Liam Wallis
Assistant Director: Louise Birgan
Production Stage Manager: Thomas Hamilton
Deputy Stage Manager: Shevon McCormack-Edwards
Deputy Stage Manager: Lola Hunt
Head Electrician: Brent Russell
Key
*Guest Artist
**NIDA Staff
***Diploma student