Jean Forbes-Robertson was an English actress. A versatile Shakespearean actress, she was often cast in boys' roles because of her slim build, playing Jim Hawkins in a stage version of Treasure Island, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and, most famously, the title role in Peter Pan.
Jean Forbes-Robertson as Peter Pan, c. 1927
Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, often known simply as Peter Pan, is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled Peter and Wendy, often extended in Peter Pan and Wendy. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and has many adventures on the island of Neverland that is inhabited by mermaids, fairies, Native Americans, and pirates. The Peter Pan stories also involve the characters Wendy Darling and her two brothers John and Michael, Peter's fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and the pirate Captain Hook. The play and novel were inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family.
1904 programme for original play
J. M. Barrie c. 1895
Illustration of Peter Pan playing the pipes in Neverland by F. D. Bedford from the first edition