13 year old Hazel Doupe from Ireland, will star in the joint roles of twelve year old Lucy Rose, a patient at modern day Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Wendy Darling, in her re-imagining of Peter Pan story.
Hazel (represented by Macfarlane Chard), who attends Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin, played Sarah in the RTE docu/drama Titanic, Blood and Steel, and starred in Irish thriller Jack Taylor:Shot Down,
Newcomer Zac Sutcliffe (who attends Yorkshire School of Acting) from Bradford, stars as Peter. Zac has just finished filming on Grimsby, a new film from Sacha Baron Cohen.
Natifa appeared as Maz in the CBBC series The Dumping Ground and will next been seen in the 2015 BBC Drama series The Interceptor.
The young cast will join Laura Fraser as Mrs Darling, Stanley Tucci as Hook, and popstar Paloma Faith in a guest appearance as Tinker Bell, alongside brand new characters played by Bjarne Henriksen, Ben Crompton and Rasmus Hardiker.
The drama is a re-imagining of J.M. Barrie’s much loved classic novel, which reinterprets this timeless story for the modern age while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original.
The drama will open in modern day Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) where twelve-year-old Lucy Rose (Hazel Doupe) is awaiting treatment for a serious heart condition. Her mother Julie (Laura Fraser, also doubling up as Mrs Darling) is distraught with the fear of losing her child, and surgeon Mr Wylie (Stanley Tucci, who also plays Hook) assures her he’ll do everything in his power to make the operation a success.
The day before her operation, Lucy reads J.M. Barrie’s novel of Peter Pan to a crowd of sick children in the hospital, and she goes to sleep with thoughts of the classic tale in her head. Lucy dreams this version of Peter Pan into existence and the story is retold through the young girl’s imagination.
The magical story cuts back and forth between Lucy’s modern day struggles and the fantasy land of Neverland, with the common theme being positivity and belief.
The two hour drama is produced by Headline Pictures with a script by BAFTA winner Adrian Hodges, and directed by Diarmuid Lawrence.
Peter & Wendy is currently in production with filming taking place over a six week period in Luxembourg, London and Dorset.
CGI special effects will be used to create the extraordinary world of The Neverland.
It is expected to screen at Christmas 2015 on ITV.