23 – 30 November
Directed by Emma Earle, this Bristol Old Vic Theatre School production of Treasure Island takes a fresh look at the familiar tale of piratical wickedness and youthful derring-do. There is a cleverly designed set all in dark wood that convinces equally as the Admiral Benbow Inn, the good ship Hispaniola and, of course, the treasure island itself. This is a well-choreographed show and effective use is made of the set’s different levels, particularly in the fight scenes and in the hunt for buried gold. The sound and lighting designs are also very evocative, and young children will be entranced by the nighttime scenes that feature sparkling starlight.
The cast of thirteen actors take on eighteen roles between them, and do so with considerable verve and energy. Kieran Devine vividly depicts Squire Trelawney as a well-intentioned but dangerously loose-tongued bungler, while in contrast Sasha McCabe’s Dr Livesey is all brisk efficiency. In the 1950 Disney movie Robert Newton created a version of Long John Silver that has become the blueprint in popular imagination for all that a pirate should be. Tom Brace-Jenkins has a very different take on that character. His Long John Silver eschews all the grotesquery, and is in consequence far more believable as someone who could dupe the likes of Trelawney and Livesey into believing he was an honest fellow.
Tyler Pringle is suitably exotic and dangerous as the pirate Israel Hands, but he also doubles up as a new character, not met in the original novel. This is Grey, as monochrome as his name, and so self-effacing and quiet that he passes unnoticed by his shipmates. His utter anonymity is used both for comic effect and as a plot device; paradoxically the eminently forgettable Grey is one of the play’s most memorable characters. I also liked Joshua Hogan’s portrayal of Ben Gunn, the cheese-loving wild-haired castaway who has had no-one to talk to for three years and so is now unable to stop conducting conversations with himself.
Most memorable of all is Tesni Richards as young Jim Hawkins, who is both the narrator and the hero of Treasure Island. Back in the early 1880s the tale was originally titled The Sea Cook: A Story For Boys, and apart from a brief appearance by Jim’s mother, female characters are notable only for their absence. By today’s standards that is somewhat lacking in gender inclusivity, so here Jim/Jemima Hawkins is proudly a girl, and a very resourceful and brave one too. Tesni Richards gets the balance just right between her youthful innocence and her growing awareness of life’s harsh realities.
There is a great deal to enjoy in this show, it combines rollicking action-adventure with sequences of song and dance, tense periods of danger are contrasted with episodes of broad, almost pantomime-like comedy. There will be those who find such shifts in tone somewhat distracting. However such reservations are unlikely to worry the younger members of the audience and this Treasure Island certainly offers loads of action-packed family entertainment.
Mike Whitton, 25 November 2024
Photo credit: Edward J Felton
