Deux jeunes J M Barries montent sur scène à Dumfries

A school drama club set up by J M Barrie helps celebrate the Dumfries legacy of the author or Peter Pan with Moat Brae patron Joanna Lumley attending as special guest at the festival's evening of theatre dance and music.

J M Barrie at the Moat Brae Academy in 1924

The school drama club founded by JM Barrie will help celebrate his legacy this weekend with an evening of drama and music in front of an audience including Joanna Lumley.

Staged, which takes place at Dumfries Academy on 24 November, where the teenage JM Barrie studied from 1873-78 is a highlight of the Dreams for the Future Festivalin Dumfries.

The festival is part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 and is a pre-opening event for Moat Brae house and gardens which will open to the public next spring as the new National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling.

Among the young actors taking part in Staged will be Ross Whalen who will take the role of JM Barrie in a short production called Barrie’s Legacy.

Photo: Coln Hattersley

This is written and performed by members of the drama club that Barrie and his friends set up and which remains a dynamic part of school life today.

Ross said:“JM Barrie is such a well-loved figure and it's such an honour to be able to bring him to life onstage in celebration of his work and 140 years of drama at Dumfries Academy. Researching and writing this play with my friends has been a rewarding experience.”

Staged will also see The Theatre Royal Junior Guild of Players perform the first full production of Bandelero the Banditsince 1877.

This was Barrie’s earliest play, which he wrote as a 17-year-old student at the academy. It generated national controversy after being condemned in the press by local minister the Rev D L Scott as “grossly immoral” and appealing to “the irreligious, the frivolous, the giddy”. However, Barrie won widespread support including from the actor Sir Henry Irving and the Duke of Buccleuch.

The play is a melodramatic tale of misunderstandings in which an attempt is made to free the unfortunate Bandelerowho has been captured and accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

Another short play called The Lost Boys’ Reuniontakes place in a modern setting and imagines what would happen if Peter Pan contacted his old comrades for one last adventure. It is being performed by a group of 16-26 year olds with additional needs who are part of the Dumfries Arts Awards Programme.

Staged will also see the world premiere of a piece of music entitled Peter Pan Moat Brae, by 24-year-old composer Patrick Dupuy which will be performed by Dumfries and Galloway Schools Ensemble with a dance piece by Dumfries School of Dance.

Fiona Somerville, who leads the ensemble and is a music teacher at St Joseph’s College, said:“Working with such a talented and hardworking group of young musicians has been a privilege. Pupils from four different secondary schools are coming together to rehearse weekly. There have been challenges along the way but the young people have shown enthusiasm and commitment; I look forward to their performance on Saturday night.”

Moat Brae is next door to the academy and is where the young JM Barrie and his friends played the games that inspired Peter Pan and his ideas for Neverland.

It has been rescued from dereliction and restored to its Georgian splendour. Work is now underway to fit it out with exhibitions, interactive displays and many other features.

Dreams for the Futuretakes place from 24 November to 2 December and is supported by the Year of Young People 2018 event fund, managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

 To book for any of the Dreams for the Future events online go to http://www.dgboxoffice.co.uk or you can pop into the Midesteeple Box Office, and for further information see the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust website at https://www.peterpanmoatbrae.org.