The boy who never grew up is flying onto Malaspina Theatre's stage.
DuffleBag Theatre actors will bring the tale of Peter Pan to life with the help of audience members. Each show the theatre company chooses one or more of the main characters to be played by members of the audience. It creates a fun, interactive atmosphere that keeps the actors on their toes and audience members guessing as to what will happen next.
The random participants are given a costume and guided on their acting journey by the narrator and by interactions with DuffleBag Theatre actors onstage.
"Whatever their choices are that is what creates the show," said Marcus Lundgren, artistic director of DuffleBag Theatre and the narrator.
Spur-of-the-moment decisions are made every night during performances. Lundgren remembers one show where they chose an audience member to play a pirate. He said there were about three young boys in the audience who were getting really excited when the pirate came onstage and he decided to bring them onstage as well.
"We brought up these three pirate wannabes. They were not even two and a half feet high. They were giggling and making people laugh, saying 'arrr we are pirates,'" he said.
DuffleBag Theatre actors have been touring for 25 years. It started during an Ontario children's festival and they kept on growing. The actors perform a range of fairy tale adaptations.
"They are always stories we loved growing up," said Lundgren, adding that it's a joy for the performers to tour across Canada and make people laugh.
Lundgren said the show is "one of those rare experiences" that brings people together, especially in today's society when people are so hooked on technology and accumulating screen time.
DuffleBag Theatre's Peter Pan, presented by TheatreOne in partnership with Festival Nanaimo, shows Saturday (March 18) at 1 p.m. at Malaspina Theatre.
Tickets are $12 each or two for $20 available in advance by visiting www.theatreone.org or at the door for one hour prior to show time.
Audience members are encouraged to dress up as characters from Peter Pan. There will be prizes for the best costumes for the Most Swashbuckling Pirate, Most Fabulous Fairy and more.
For more information about DuffleBag Theatre, please visit http://dufflebag.com.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
Meet DuffleBag Theatre from DuffleBag Theatre on Vimeo.