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Courage - An Address to the Students of St. Andrew's University presented by Lost Boy Theatre Productions
Knox United Church
Wednesday, January 26 - Sunday, January 30

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Peter Pan is an adventurous tale that has been told to children across the world, and now Pumphouse Theatre is portraying the creator behind the popular classic in Courage.

Already familiar with Scottish playwright and author J. M. Barrie, actor and show producer Terry Gunvordahl is now developing an even more intimate relationship with the novelist: He’s portraying Barrie in a one-man show.

“When my sons were growing up, I fought off more Captain Hooks and more crocodiles with wooden swords; it was a big part of my life,” Gunvordahl recalls.

Directed by Trevor Rueger, Courage is based on an actual speech Barrie delivered to a graduating class at St. Andrew’s University in 1922 when he was 62 years old — ironically, also the current age of Gunvordahl.

Playwright John Pielmeier weaves elements of Barrie’s life into the framework of the speech to create a biographical sketch of the man. Gunvordahl estimates almost 95 per cent of the script is comprised of Barrie’s actual words.

Five boys from the Davies family play prominent roles in the story as Barrie had both a substantial and public association with them. He befriended the children, and the boys inspired Barrie’s Peter Pan stories. Following their parents’ deaths, Barrie became the boys’ guardian.

Over the years, questions have been raised about Barrie’s relationship with the children, but there has never been any evidence to prove an improper relationship. As adults, the Davies boys have always flatly denied any suspicions of pedophilic tendencies on Barrie’s part.

“The youngest boy, Nicholas, said he didn’t think Barrie had a sexual bone in his body,” Gunvordahl says.

“He just had a rapport with children that he could never have with adults. He became a child when he played with kids. He lost his inhibitions. And I suppose, at that point in time, for the stiff-upper-lip Victorians, to see him playing with dogs and kids, they must have raised their eyebrows at what was going on.”

Many Calgarians know of Gunvordahl for his award-winning career as a stage designer, but a few years ago he started acting.

“I totally have enjoyed both the acting process and how acting informs my design,” he says. “I decided I want to keep doing this. I want to do one show a year. Of course, as an actor, you can‘t depend on being cast. You have to create your own projects.”

Last season Gunvordahl initiated and acted in Sage Theatre’s production of Heroes. Then he began the process of selecting a project for this year by looking through the works of playwrights he knew and liked.

One aspect that Gunvordahl likes about the script is the opportunity it gives him to break the fourth wall and interact with the audience. “It’s not like I’m in a living room, pretending the audience isn’t there. I’m addressing an audience.”

“It’s kind of a surprising, wonderful, storytelling, charming script that is so much fun to do.”

However, when asked if he’ll ever take on the role of producing his own show again, he says, emphatically, “never, never, never” — it was a lot of work. But as those in the world of theatre know, “never” is almost as elusive a concept as Neverland itself.