Neville's Island

I last saw this play several years ago and all that I could remember, was some men wandering round an island and one of them appearing at the end of the play, with a dead seagull round his neck. After seeing it again I cannot understand why I remember so little of it, except that it does have a part in the middle where not much happens to the development of the story, a glitch in the writing rather than the performing. Set on the small Island of Rampsholme in the middle of Derwentwater in the Lake District in November, where four middle management executives on a team building exercise, have mistakenly found themselves, after their boat has sunk. A challenging play in many areas, starting with the set, it calls for a rural setting, a look out tree and water from which the characters emerge at the beginning. There are many sound and lighting effects as we move through day and night, and the helicopter beam and Ferry Boat complete with Disco travelling around the Island; then there are the practical challenges of naked flames and sparklers. Props are also demanding with Angus’s ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of a rucksack, complete with camping gear and Dinner Suit; and finally the dead gyrfalcon.

The set was visible as you entered the Theatre, the stage had been transformed into a wooded glade, with tree roots and dead leaves, it was very realistic and you had no doubt where you were; ‘the lookout tree’ had been sturdily constructed allowing the actors to ascend and descend safely. The major technical challenge of the set was providing the ‘lake’ from which they emerged, and this did not work for me. The orchestra pit had been covered with green fabric and the characters came up through it; it was not convincing as water surrounding the island, and did not match the high standard of the rest of the set; it might have looked better if there had been water effect lighting on it. 

The lighting had been well designed and operated meeting these particular challenges successfully. The changes of light throughout the day and night combined with smoke to give a fog effect were excellent, the ferry passing the island, the helicopter, the firework effect, all helped create each situation as it arose; also the accompanying sound effects were well synchronised adding to the experience. The stage had been carefully constructed with a dip, so that when Neville manages to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together the area is hidden from the audience. Everyone was well dressed and looked the part, with all the outdoor gear and walking boots, I expect this play was relatively easy to costume. I liked the humour of Angus’ towel.

The cast of four had got to grips with their characters and gave well rounded performances, showing character development as the play progressed, although with the many lines of dialogue there were one or two ‘pauses for thought’.  Richard Tiley as Neville, came across as the well meaning, but quite inept leader of the group, whose has decided that the instructions were in the form of cryptic clues, which leads them to the Island in the first place. Gordon, played by Jonathan Vickers, is a sarcastic bully who tries to undermine everyone, but reduces Angus to a shadow of his former self by putting doubts about the stability of his marriage into his head, and by the end you realise he has a massive chip on his shoulder as he has worked his way up through the company and Angus has come straight in. Richard Loftus as Angus, who has his large rucksack, which his wife has packed for him with practically everything bar the kitchen sink, came over well as naïve and trusting, taking everything at face value, but gradually loosing all self confidence as a result of Gordon’s scathing comments. He showed his confusion of how to handle the subject of Roy’s breakdown well, as he was the only one who did not know the reason for it. Dave Kilmister as Roy gave a lovely performance as the born again Christian, who is recovering from a breakdown, and is gradually, tipped over the edge again.  All four characters inter-reacted well and showed how the mounting tensions of the situation, of being marooned, cold and hungry were affecting them and their relationship with each other. Director Lynsay Kille had obviously worked hard with her cast to help them to work as a cohesive unit, to bring out the humour and the darker side of the play. This was a team effort and everyone in all departments had worked hard to produce a high quality production.                                                       

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.