Brown Sugar productions present A Familiar Friend, a piece of new writing By Josh Borune
4th week//Pilch//mt17

'A Familiar Friend', which is loosely based on the writings of J.M. Barrie, is the story of a boy who calls himself 'Peter Pan'. Following a difficult upbringing and a series of personal tragedies, Peter attempts to escape his depression by living in a world of stories and fantasy, facilitated by substance abuse. While his friends indulge him, a new relationship with Wendy Darling, a sensible but imaginative girl, may be what we needs to bring him back to reality.

This bleak and gritty play combines moments of comedy with a down-to-earth portrayal of mental illness and coping mechanisms, using magical realism as a narrative tool to blend fantasy and reality as well as light and dark. It reclaims the darker heritage of fairytales to take a well-known and well-loved children's story and use it as a vehicle to explore some of the issues which are most salient to those who have to grow up today.