Accomplishments..

             Dion Boucicault directed the first production of Peter Pan that was an instant success when it opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on December 27, 1904. His sister, Nina Boucicault, who was then 37 years old, played the title role.Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree established an Academy of Dramatic Art at His Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket. In 1905, the Academy moved to its own premises and, shortly afterwards, Irene Vanbrugh was invited to join the Managing Council that already, in addition to Tree, included her friends, J. M. Barrie and Arthur Wing Pinero. (In 1909, her younger brother, Kenneth Barnes, was made the Principal of what, in 1920, became the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He held the post till 1955. Throughout her life, Irene Vanbrugh was an enthusiastic supporter of the Academy, and the students' theatre there was named 'The Vanbrugh' in her honor.). He had many wonderful performances in the theatre.
             
In 1921, G B Shaw invited Irene Vanbrugh to star in and Dion Boucicault to direct his latest play Jitta's Atonement. They were so busy that they had to decline. Perhaps it was just as well. The play did not have its premiere until January 17, 1923 at the Shubert Theatre, New York, to a less than enthusiastic reception. It was not presented in Great Britain for another two years when Shaw arranged for it to be performed during a provincial tour organized by Irene Vanbrugh's older sister Violet. The other play in the program was The Letter of the Law by Kenneth Barnes, Violet and Irene's brother. The tour was not a success. Dion Boucicault, who was in his mid-sixties, began to decline and Irene Vanbrugh was absent for a while from the West End. On her return, she was greeted with universal critical praise. In March, 1926, she starred in All the King's Horses by Charles Elton Openshaw at the Globe Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, transferring on April 5 to the Playhouse, Charing Cross