Peter and Alice

by John Logan

'Of course that's how it a harmless fairy tale to pass the hours'

When Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewelyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932, the original Alice in Wonderland came face to face with the original Peter Pan. In John Logan’s remarkable new play, enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bare the lives of these two extraordinary characters.This is the new play from Academy Award winning screenwriter and playwright John Logan. His previous play RED played in London to great acclaim before transferring to Broadway where it won 6 Tony Awards including Best New Play.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Books About Books, 21st Century

72 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2013

About the author

Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, Never the Sinner, tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include Hauptmann, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and Riverview, a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park.

His play Red, about artist Mark Rothko, was produced by the Donmar Warehouse, London in December 2009, and on Broadway, where it received six Tony Awards in mid-June, 2010, the most of any play, including best play, best direction of a play for Michael Grandage and best featured actor in a play for Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne and Alfred Molina had originated their roles in London and brought them to New York for a limited run ending in late June.

Logan wrote Any Given Sunday and the television movie RKO 281, before gaining an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the Best Picture-winner, Gladiator in 2000. He gained another nomination for writing 2004's The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Other notable films written by Logan include Star Trek: Nemesis, The Time Machine, The Last Samurai, and the Tim Burton-directed musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which he received a Golden Globe Award.

Logan's most recent feature films include Rango, an animated feature starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski, the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, and the film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret directed by Martin Scorsese. Logan co-wrote the scripts to the James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre.

Reviews

[Jen Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so disappointed that I couldn't get tickets to see the production, and so grateful that this script exists. Through the Looking Glass is my favourite book, and I wrote my dissertation on Peter Pan. I have a fascination with the history of both of these books and - honestly - cried through at least half of this play. In a way I'm glad I've read it instead of watching it, as this way I can really savour the words. It is truly, truly wonderful. I might be slightly broken now.

[Paul Secor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter and Alice is a dramatized imagining of an actual event, when Alice Liddell Hargreaves (the model for Alice in Wonderland) met Peter Llewelyn Davies (the model for Peter Pan) at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932. I saw one or two filmed versions of Peter Pan when I was a child (more years ago than I want to think about) and I recall finding it upsetting.
I've never read Alice in Wonderland but, when I do, I'm sure that reading this play will affect my feelings about it. In fact, I'm sure that reading this play will have an effect on my reading of children's literature in general, not only how children who are the models for characters in books might be damaged throughout their lives, but also how authors of children's books might be haunted by memories of their own childhoods.

I would have loved to have seen a performance of Peter and Alice. Judi Dench's photograph is on the book cover (she played in the original London production) along with Ben Whishaw, the actor who played Peter. I found that, as I read it, I was seeing her. A similar thing happened when I read Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool. I'd seen the film version before I read the book and I kept seeing Paul Newman, who played Sully, as I was reading. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just an interesting addition to my reading experience.

[aleks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so touching and beautiful and heartbreaking and many other very positive adjectives :,)
(Yes, heartbreaking is a positive adjective, shsh)

Anyway, what a shame I could never see the play since Ben Whishaw's voice makes me pray that he records audiobooks so i can listen to them before sleep.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was beautiful and very sad.

Peter Pan is one of those stories that I think as adults we will always cherish. The story of a child who stayed a child is a beautiful idea, but maybe that’s because no one has ever just stayed a child unless of unfortunate death.

Alice in wonderland in all its oddities is obviously beloved as well and the adventure of finding a place down a rabbit hole has captured childhood in vibrant colors and memorable characters.

So what happens when the two people who were the inspiration of Peter Pan and Alice in wonderland meet in real life as adults? Brilliant conversations about growing up and growing old, experiencing loss and heartache, and revisiting the two children who made them who they are.

It’s 1932, the real Peter Llewellyn Davies age 30 and Alice Hargreaves age 80 meet. This play is so brilliant because it shows the audience/reader how Peter Pan and Alice in wonderland came to be and how even though both stories are about keeping innocence and staying young forever; these people lost pieces of their childhood because of it. I loved how the book characters were in this play. Almost like they climbed out of Davies and Hargreaves skin and started having conversations with them.

I was fairly familiar already with Peter Davies childhood story from watching one of (if not) my all time favorite movie, “Finding Neverland”. One of the things that really stuck out to me in this play was the conversation about Peter and Michael. Yes, Peter was the inspiration for Pan, but Michael was...Pan’s shadow. That moment to me just made me love this even more.

Read this! I really want to see this play now!

[Zizeloni · Rating 4 out of 5]

readathon17 Book 3: a theatrical play

I wish I could watch this play!
It took me a while to get into the "play" style, I read fast and that does not work well with plays.
But after I got used to the rhythm, I really liked it.
In this story, the real people that inspired Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland meet and talk.
Talk about how hard it is to disengage themselves from these characters.
They talk about the two authors, both lonely men that found joy in the company of children (always hinting what everyone is thinking, but not clearly admitting it).
They talk about how adult life disappointed them.

It is the first play I read and I would say it was a very good choice.

[Olivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This must have been a wonderful performance.

[shakespeareandspice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book is akin to a sharp needle piercing your childhood self to quietly test your existence. Once complete, all that’s left is bruised skin and an exposed cluster of miseries.

[Noelia Alonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm heartbroken.

[Michela Book_butterflies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigued by the idea of a discussion between the two people who inspired those beloved characters, I could not help being carried away by John Logan’s work. Combining facts, speculations and quotations from the original texts, Logan develops a beautiful, melancholic and moving opera, where one gets touched by venturing into reflections on life, growth, and the importance of childhood.
The two protagonists are trapped in visceral relationships with the writers. They despise the men who condemned a part of them to immortality, who forced them to grow up faster by exposing them. At the same time, they are finding themselves in the same position in which the writers were when they first met, trapped in a life that is too crude to bear “ALICE IN WONDERLAND: In the place called Adulthood there are no Cheshire Cats...for they can’t endure suffering of the place”. For this reason, they both despise and understand the writers. The two novels are seen as a doom but also as a beautiful love letter to those children who have managed to make the authors’ lives less painful.
Following their discussions, we find ourselves overwhelmed by remembering that growth is the most beautiful drama ever written and how our childhood memories are crucial for our life.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play was absolutely amazing.

Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland are two of my favourite novels and this meeting of the people who inspired the characters is perfect.

Peter and Alice spend the play discussing the effect that 'being' Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland has had on their lives and delving into memories of their relationships with the authors.

It is funny and tragic and heart-wrenching and poignant and I hope that one day I am able to see it performed.

[Zoe Senese-Grossberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not been so struck by a play in such a long time that by the first few pages I was already nearly brought to tears. The meeting of these two deeply real people, the men who immortalized them, and the legends they inspired creates a spell binding conversation on how we deal with and let go of our childhoods. The story is little more than a psychological study of growing up but also an inspection of what two grown men can actually want from young children and what do they give them. Logan takes care to not glorify Carroll and Barrie while also avoiding turning them into purely pedophilic monsters. Their legacy and influence is complicated and we as an audience are forced to grapple with them as much as Peter and Alice themselves do. A beautifully written character study that keeps managing to break your heart down to its last few seconds.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my girlfriend's favourite play, and she's been reading it to me over the last few days. It's one of those plays which I think comes across more powerfully on stage than it does on paper (which, tbf, is the entire point of a play) but it's still devastatingly heartbreaking without a stage production. It follows the real life, adult versions, of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, and how their adulthoods were impacted from their childhood fame. At one point, the fictional characters join the adult counterparts on stage, which makes for a very powerful analysis of how memories become distorted with age and how we remember our own childhoods. Really good read.

[Charlotte Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second play this year which I don't think is too bad considering I don't think I've ever previously read a play outside of course texts or review copies.

I am not particularly attached to the stories of Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan but I thought I would try reading a play that was written more recently, in this case in 2013, and I had heard amazing things about this one from Jen Campbell.

Though John Logan has written a gripping and melancholic play in a succinct way, I felt that the fact I was reading it, instead of seeing it performed on stage, I was not hit by the emotional impact that I think I would be if I saw this being performed.

Overall I am glad that I read this play so that I now have my own opinions on it after all of the great things I've heard about it, but I feel that I would rather see it on stage instead of reading it.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

All reviews can be found at: eckeaubooks.tumblr.com

John Logan is an American playwright and screenwriter. His catalogue includes the Mark Rothko-inspired play, ‘Red’ as well as the films ‘Gladiator,’ ‘The Last Samurai,’ ‘Sweeney Todd,’ ‘Hugo’ and ‘Skyfall’ to name but a few. Logan has won numerous Tony Awards, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. ‘Peter and Alice’ is one of his latest plays.

‘Peter and Alice’ is based on a meeting between Alice Liddell and Peter Llewelyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll Centenary Exhibit in 1932. The real-life inspirations for Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan meet for the first and only time. This play is the imagined outcome of this meeting.

The play is a subtle and stunning exploration of Childhood and the pressures of literary immortality. These are two adults that were never allowed to grow-up. At their every new meeting, there is the moment of recognition: “the ah! Its you! Its Alice… Its Peter.” There is joy in the meetings, as Alice points out:

“When people find out, they always smile, for they’re bringing so many associations with them…”

They can never be enough however. They will always be human, and the icons are not. Peter responds with:

“But a second after those happy memories comes that look of confusion and doubt… That’s not you. You have egg on your collar. You can’t fly… They’ve been deceived. As if you’ve somehow been lying to them.”

How can one live in the shadow of a colossus? The tug-of-war between Alice and Peter in the play centres around accepting and coming to terms with being these Literary versions of themselves, or struggling against it. Alice Liddell, eighty at this point in time, has accepted that she will always be viewed as Alice in Wonderland, while Peter Llewelyn Davies, at thirty-five, is haunted by his association with Peter Pan. He feels he will never belong to himself.

At its heart, the play is about truth. Peter is desperate for it. His entire life has been a construction provided by someone else! Throughout his adult life, he was followed by headlines referring to him as Peter Pan, even newspaper reports of his death referred to him in their headlines as Peter Pan. Near the end of the play, Alice Liddell asks him, who will be remembered? Herself or Alice in Wonderland? Who is more real?

While Alice takes solace in her memories of Alice in Wonderland, Mr Carroll and her childhood, Peter cannot.

“…we can’t live in a fantasy. Reality may be hard, but its all we have.”

The reality that he has now, his private pains, are all that he can see as being his own. Everything else about him belongs to Barrie and hundreds of readers, but his pain is his own. That is Peter’s truth.

Overall, an amazing wonderfully written and beautifully poignant play. I highly recommend it, not just for those who are interested in the Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan mythos, but also anyone interested in reflections of childhood and adulthood.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

FABULOUS play! I can't remember ever having a play move me to tears on the first reading. This play did that. Such a beautiful, subtle, sensitive exploration of childhood memories and their implications for us, and importance to us, as adults. The style of the piece is so fluid; just like memory. I would love to see it with the original cast.

24 May, 2020
So beautiful… So sad… Moves me to tears. Alice Liddell Hargeaves and Peter Llewelyn Davies met once at a book shop in London. We have no idea what they said to each other. This play is a creative speculation as to what might have occurred. It is also loaded with the history of J. M. Barrie and Louis Carroll and their creations, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland; and the histories of the Liddell and Davies Families.
Is there a moment when we grow up? What is that moment? Is reality better than fantasy? Or do they each have their purposes? Beautiful…

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complicated and haunting, confronting and heart-aching.

[Dougie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play is incredible and I’d love to see it performed, though reading it is rewarding in itself. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking look at the harsh realities of growing up, sadness, loss and self deception.

The mixing of the real people and their characters and their authors in a number of dizzying scenes was done with a deftness that kept the focus on the important parts rather than the often confusing blurring of fantasy and reality. It’s amazing how little was needed to put the reader right in the world of the play, there’s almost nothing descriptive included, you’re just launched right in and carried along and I loved it.

[Drew Rothhaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and tragic, Logan’s take on the conversation between Alice and Peter is fascinating, particularly as he weaves in quotes and references to the literary works that haunt them. I desperately wish I could have seen the original production when it was playing.

[Alexia Polasky · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark but serviceable look at the real life role models for Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. I'm sure the play is more visually interesting than this rather bleak look at adulthood.

[mary ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply brilliant.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Famous people should not be so tiny, it seems dishonest." - John Logan, Peter and Alice

This book destroyed me. Both Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland have a very special place in my heart, this play has since become a favourite too.

Peter and Alice is a play about a fictionalised account of a real meeting between Peter Llewelyn Davis (the ‘real’ Peter Pan) and Alice Liddell Hargreaves (the ‘real' Alice in Wonderland).

Peter and Alice is a fascinating and heartbreaking exploration into the price of fame and what fame at such a young age can do to a person. There is a strong focus on how becoming an 'immortalised child' can affect and perhaps ruin a life.
We see how adult Peter and Alice are both unable to cope with being trapped in their ‘personas’ and constantly disappointing people by simply having grown-up.

There is mention of Peter and Alice regarding their ‘personas’ as shadows, forever following and haunting them. For the majority of the play, they are ‘shadowed’ by their respective characters, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and the authors that made them famous, J.M. Barrie and Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll).

The play was beautifully written and meticulously researched by playwright, John Logan. He was able to seamlessly work elements of fact and speculation along with elements of the stories of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland into the play.

Peter and Alice is an absolutely heartbreaking read but that makes it no less poignant and wonderful. My only wish was that I was able to have seen the play performed.

[Shifty Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

" In the place called Adulthood, there's precious few golden afternoons. They've gone away to make away for other things like business and housekeeping and wanting eveyone to be the same. [...] It's grim and shabby. There are no Mad Hatteras and there are no Cheshire Cats, for they can't endure the suffering of the place "

I'm heartbroken. Truly and absolutely.
Peter Pan and Alice have always had a special place in my heart, for I found their worlds to be immortal and sublime for the whole eternity. Wonderland and Neverland, the edges of magic of this universe.

This play is kind of what happened after the books reached their endings. After their paths left the scenery of fairytale and were force to face the tragedy of reality.

Although I knew that there was a source of inspiration for both of these stories, I never went into details. The real Alice and the real Peter grew up and were made to face the cruelty of this act. War happened. And it shattered their immortality.

It hurt me deeply to find out the real Peter came to hate being associated with its character. But I guess it couldn't be helped.

The play is beautiful and whimsical, making a parallel of the reality and the fairytale, intertwining them through marvelous quotes from the actual stories, creating a play at the border of reality and fantasy.

I really did enjoy reading it, I think it would have been marvelous to see it on stage. Truly magical and heart wrecking.

What did bother me were the accusations placed on L. Carroll. He's someone I truly admire, and making a fact from some silly rumors truly upset me, as this play did a very good job at staying true to the history, until it didn't. While it didn't truly bother others, it did bother me.

As being said, I do recommend it to anyone who loved these tales and actually knows the history behind it. Otherwise, I think it would be better to read about the real Alice and the real Peter a little before you get into it, to save yourself from any sad and surprising events contained in this play.

[Alexandra (Lexi) Roselyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was depressing.

Utterly, horribly depressing.

Having said that I loved it.

I'm obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan and actually attempted to write a short story and screenplay based on the two for my senior project during my undergrad. With that in mind there was no way I wasn't going to love this. I loved every second of this. If you have a fascination with either of these stories, the authors, or just like bleak and depressing things, you should really give this a go. Five stars all the way.

[Pers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to see this play last night, then read the script on the journey back home. It is absolutely amazing - a beautifully written, thought-provoking, moving and fascinating story of the real life meeting between Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the girl behind Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Llewellyn Davies, the boy behind Peter Pan. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Theaterstück, dass in meiner Traumbesetzung im Westend lief. Leider konnte ich es nicht ansehen, aber den Text kann ich wenigstens lesen. Die echte Alice im Wunderland, Alice Liddell, eröffnete 1932 eine Ausstellung über Lewis Carroll. An ihrer Seite stand der wahre Peter Pan, Peter Davies. In diesem Drama spinnt Logan eine Geschichte, was die beiden wohl einander zu sagen hatten.

[Oliver Grin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the material is not altogether joyful, this was and absolute joy to read. A true transportation, in mind and heart, to seeing the play performed live, but also a vivid and moving new experience in reading it on its own.

[Isobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, emotional, thoughtfully written. This might be one of my favourite reads of 2015!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly beautiful and tragic.

[Rikke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartshattering and so brilliant.