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‘Peter Pan’, is one of the most famous and best-loved stories for children. An unforgettable, magical fantasy about ‘the boy who wouldn’t grow up’.
Fairytale-loving Wendy Darling and her two brothers are asleep in their nursery when they are woken by a strange boy and his fairy friend, Tinkerbell. After teaching them to fly, Peter takes the children off on the most breathtaking adventure of their lives, to a place called Neverland – a land where the ‘lost boys’ live, and where they meet Tiger Lily and her Indian pals, discover the beautiful mermaids, and have swashbuckling fights with the evil Captain Hook.
Featuring the musical numbers: Neverland, I Gotta Crow, Wendy, Distant Melody, I’m Flying, I Won’t Grow Up and Hook’s Waltz.
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I am Peter Pan - the boy who wouldn’t grow up!
During rehearsals for ‘Romeo & Juliet’ I received a call from my Agent telling me that the director Paul Kerryson (whom I had worked with at the Leicester Haymarket on ‘The Wizard Of Oz’) wanted me to take on the role of Peter Pan in his production of the Broadway musical. Closely based on James M Barrie’s classic story, this musical version was originally written for the American theatre star Mary Martin in the 50’s and later adapted for Cathy Rigby.
It was such a pleasure and a compliment to be offered work without having to go through the painful (but normally essential) audition process. I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of this family musical drama, and slightly daunted at the idea of taking on a role that was vocally written for a woman!
 Nina Boucicault created the role of Peter Pan at the Duke of York’s Theatre in 1904, and on the West End stage Peter has been played my many wonderful actresses of their respective eras (Gladys Cooper, Glynis Johns, Margaret Lockwood, Sylvia Simms, Millicent Martin, Wendy Craig, Hayley Mills, Maggie Smith and Lulu!).
In 1982 Miles Anderson was the first actor (in London) to take on the role. However, there have been surprisingly few male ‘Peters’ since, and knowing I was possibly the first-ever British male actor to be part of the Broadway version made this a truly exciting project. Each song would have to be orchestrated around my voice and vocal range, and although I had my hands pretty full playing ‘Romeo’, I met up with Grant Hossack (the musical arranger for ‘Peter’) to sort out keys for the musical numbers.
The next real challenge was how well could I fly? I had two days to learn! During technical rehearsals I was coached in basic flying technique. The next thing I had to master was not letting the excruciating pain of the flying harness on my groin show on my face! … “Mummy, why is Peter crying?”
I never did get used to the pain, but I managed not to cry!
I particularly loved the original design and look of this ‘Peter Pan’; the Darling Household was a monochrome penthouse and Peter’s ‘Neverland’ was a bright and colourful Vegas-style amusement park. The costumes certainly weren’t conventional either, with ‘Mad Max’ style Pirates, grungy trailer-trash Lost Boys and a very green-leafed Peter!
Unfortunately, on the day of the opening performance I had to make an emergency trip to the physiotherapist with severe groin strain. Being held in the air by a single wire (some flying techniques use two wires) meant that my entire body weight was resting on two straps running either side of my groin. With 16 lifts per show, for 66 performances the inevitable happened! With no understudy (the norm at regional theatres) I persevered.
I was asked to do several Press promotions ranging from an interview on BBC Radio, appearing on East Midlands TV News, delivering Christmas presents to the local children’s hospital - and even appearing on the ‘Big Breakfast’ on location in Leicester.
Painful though it was, this was a really enjoyable production and we went on to sell over 40,000 tickets, breaking the record at the Leicester Haymarket! There was even talk of transferring to a West End theatre, and I understand a producer viewed the show with the intention of remounting our production the following Christmas … sadly it never happened.
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........................................... “Simon Greiff is genuinely touching”
“Peter Pan was mischievously played by Simon Greiff, his personality shone through and he had that rare ability to make the part convincing and believable at the same time … (the production’s) well worth catching”
Heartland Evening News ...........................................
“Excellent company … Simon Greiff is a likeable and chipper Peter, cocky but cheery … … enchanting, magical, entertaining piece of theatre”
Whatsonstage.com
**** Four Stars
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“Resounding success … the hits were Simon Greiff’s chirpy and clear-voiced Peter … the production’s enchanting, full of charm and magic”
Leicester Mercury ...........................................
“Simon Greiff has a certain grace for performing on high, he never dropped a note … a magical show”
Oadby Mail ...........................................
“Celebrated musical version” – See This, The Guide
The Guardian ...........................................
“Simon Greiff as Peter delivers a poignant ‘Neverland’ … the flying sequences are breathtaking and beautiful”
The Stage ...........................................
“There is something naggingly familiar about Simon Greiff’s portrayal of a cocksure, swaggering elf with a permanent smirk and a pathological aversion to responsibility … could it be Robbie Williams?”
The Guardian
**** Four Stars
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“Top-notch Christmas show” - Best Of Beyond Christmas 2001"
The Independent ...........................................
“Genuinely strongly acted by the entire cast … my favourite (was) Simon Greiff for his effortless movements on earth, ethereal movements in the air, and his genuine other-worldliness. He managed to look both older than the other, more heavy-footed Lost Boys and definitely more youthful at the same time”
BBC Leicester ...........................................
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