Hi Everyone,
I'm writing a paper about Tinker Bell's near-death scene, when Peter turns to the audience and requests that they affirm their belief in fairies. I find it really interesting because the audience, both children and adults, are put in a position where they must applaud in order for the play to continue, and in applauding they profess their belief in fairies, which in all likelihood is not true. There are many layers, I think, of belief, theatricality, and suspension of disbelief. Complicating all of this is this real history of the "fairy-faith," and the Victorian fascination with fairy myth.

I would be very interested to find a copy of an early draft of the play, if someone has a link or a file. I hear Yale has a copy, but I'd rather not go all the way to New Haven to discover that the scene as was first produced is exactly the same as in the 1920's version.

Also, if anyone happens to know about any secondary material (scholarly articles, for instance) that discuss this scene, please let me know.

J. Reeve