On what date was J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan first performed on stage?

J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan was first performed on stage on 27 December 1904.

The first production opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London. The play was titled Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up and introduced audiences to the boy who refuses adulthood, the Darling children, Tinker Bell and Captain Hook.

Nina Boucicault played Peter Pan in the original London production. The role was traditionally played by a woman or girl in early theatrical productions, reflecting Victorian and Edwardian stage conventions for youthful fantasy characters.

The date is sometimes confused with the play’s first publication or with later Broadway productions. The original London opening came before Barrie published the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy, which retold and expanded the story in prose.