19 – 30 July
Directed by John Nicholson, and written by him together with Exeter-based theatre company Le Navet Bete, this is the funniest show that I have been to for a very long time. Having first seen the light of day as Christmas entertainment at the Plymouth Athenaeum in 2019, this wonderfully inventive production is a very clever adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s salty, coming-of-age tale. Served up in the form of pantomime, with much physical comedy, audience participation and verbal silliness, it nevertheless retains the key elements of Stevenson’s narrative. Due respect is also paid to his themes of trust, friendship and self-discovery, but outrageous liberties are taken with the cast of characters. Yes, at the heart of the story there is still wide-eyed Jim Hawkins (Nick Bunt) and duplicitous old rogue Long John Silver (Al Dunn), aided by vicious Billy Bones (Simon Burbage), but that’s about as far as reverent treatment of the original goes.
Their shipmates include fabulously camp Blue Peter, posing provocatively in a skimpy Jean-Paul Gaultier costume, and he and the rest of the decidedly motley crew are under the command of a whiskery, fish finger-fixated Captain Birdseye. Having identified a lamentable lack of young female characters in Stevenson’s novel, Le Navet Bete introduce us to game show hostess Vanessa (Matt Freeman), just about contained in her slinky silver lame dress. Quite what a TV game show is doing in Treasure Island I’ll leave you to discover for yourself. Romantic interest for Jim is amply provided by The Mermaid (Matt Freeman, again), who also provides the show with its most hysterically funny moments. Suffice it to say that, just like seals and penguins, mermaids are not at their elegant best when on dry land. I guess further female interest is also supplied by Alexa, the parrot from the Amazon who has a happy knack of misinterpreting every request.
This Treasure Island is action-packed and delivered at great pace, and features no less than twenty-six characters, including a gorilla. Given that the excellent Nick Bunt plays Jim Hawkins throughout, the other three cast members have to be exceptionally nimble costume changers. There’s a distinct sense that all could descend into chaos and confusion at any moment, and in last night’s show there were one or two narrow escapes when all did not go quite as planned, but these actors are used to taking risks, and see every minor slip as an opportunity for further ad-libbed comedy. Their superb timing and impressive physical skills combine to create a kind of polished, breathless mayhem.
The energy flags a little after the interval, and the narrative becomes somewhat lost amid all the comic diversions, but there is still much to enjoy, including a splendid put-down of empty, New Age platitudes about finding treasure in one’s personal journey. Throughout the show there’s atmospheric music from Peter Coyte, and Fi Russell’s clever set swiftly changes from the Admiral Benbow Inn into the good ship Jolly Todger and, finally, Skeleton Island. This Treasure Island offers great holiday fun for all the family. Hoist anchor and set sail for the Old Vic as soon as you can!
★★★★☆ Mike Whitton, 22nd July 2022
photo credit Matt Austin
