"Oh, for an hour of Herod," was Anthony Hope's murderous opinion of Peter Pan when it premiered at the Duke of York's theatre in London on 27 December 1904. Bernard Shaw was inclined to agree, arguing that the show was an "artificial freak". But many disagreed, including Mark Twain, who called JM Barrie's story "a great and refining and uplifting benefaction to this sordid and money-mad age".
Such was its popularity that it made the author a great deal of money (because of a bequest made at his death, London's Great Ormond Street Hospital continues to benefit). Here's a clip from an early film version made in 1924 with Betty Bronson, who was personally chosen by Barrie to play the boy who refuses to grow up.
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Plenty of actresses have been associated with the role of Peter Pan – particularly Dame Gladys Cooper, who always insisted that the play was entirely unsuitable for children and was intended for adults. In the US, Mary Martin (mother of Larry Hagman) played Peter many times. Here she is in a 1960 version filmed for TV made when she was 47 (but apparently forever young).
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In more recent stagings, including the emotionally textured 1983 production for the RSC, Peter has been played by a male actor. The RSC's "demon boy" was a young Mark Rylance, who was heartbreaking in the role. Alas, there are no online clips, so we'll have to make do with the 2010 National Theatre of Scotland version, written by David Greig, which transposed the action from London to Edinburgh.
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And for something completely different, take a look at this clip from Mabou Mines puppet version of Peter and Wendy, which was seen at the Edinburgh international festival in 2009.
