Robinson Crusoe

ROBINSON CRUSOE a pantomime performed by St Michael’s Amateur Dramatic Society on Thursday, 20th January, 2022 at St Michael's Parish Hall, Shaw Street, Wigan.

We first hear of Robinson Crusoe in a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719. The first edition credited the book’s protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many to believe he was a real person and the book, a travelogue of true incidents. This ‘swashbuckling adaptation’, of the same name was penned by St Michael’s very own, very talented Ian Field and follows the adventures and mishaps of a group from Wigan, who, having found ‘half a treasure map’, set sail on ‘The Cross-Eyed Buccaneer’ in pursuit of a long-lost treasure on the Isle of Juan Fernandez in the Caribbean.  On their travels they encounter ‘Davey Jones’ the Old Man of the Sea, a bunch of decidedly dodgy ‘Vegetarian Cannibals’ and their King, a ‘Witch Doctor’ and a not so ‘crazy castaway’ before ending up back in Wigan safe and sound! 

Has it really been two years and 3 days since I saw my last St Michael’s Pantomime... all I can say… ‘the wait was worth it’!  Good audience, not full, but I really do not think that mattered to those present or those on stage, because, for sure, we all enjoyed ourselves and had a great night!

The past couple of years have been a challenge, not only for Amateur Theatre, but for theatre as a whole! Having spoken with many societies and to St Michael’s that evening, staging any production in this climate has been difficult! The possibility of this production never ‘reaching the stage’ was always ‘real’, so to keep people interested, motivated and enthused was a challenge… a challenge met head on by the Production Team, June Dowd (Director), Julie Clarke (Stage Manager), Dave Maloney (Assistant Stage Manager) Hayley Bentham and Shelia Livesey (Chorus Co-ordinators), Caitriona Muir (Lighting and Sound) David Palin and Ian Field (Technical Set-Up) and many other unsung heroes who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure this production made the stage.  To all… congratulations, job well done, be proud!

Having said all that… St Michael’s were still dealing with problems the night I attended. With less than 12 hours before the opening of their second week, they lost David Palin, part of their Comedy Duo - Captain Cockle – who tested positive for Covid!  St Michael’s were able to replace David with Karen Heyes, who did a marvellous job.   Reading from a script… Karen worked really well with her comedy partner Barnacle Bill (the Bosun) – Ann Wasley!  Well done Karen, not the easiest of positions to be placed in, but you dealt with it really well!   PS… I am also told that this was Karen’s only performance, Karen testing positive for Covid the following morning… replacements were found …and the SHOW DID GO ON!

The cast: ‘Robinson Crusoe’, our leading lady, was played extremely well by Charlie Taylor.  Charlie made this role her own and looked totally comfortable throughout. Confident, good stage presence, be ever so proud Charlie, good job!  Playing opposite Charlie was the love of his life ‘Polly Perkins’, the Squires Daughter played by Evie Birkett. Possibly a few nerves to start with, but as the production developed, so did her confidence and this allowed her character to develop and her confidence to grow, worked well with Charlie, well done Evie, good job!  Lewis Holden took on the role of ‘Billy Crusoe’, Robinson’s brother. Again, another confident performance, good rapport with audience, well done young man!  Our writer Ian Field, took on two roles: ‘The Old Man of the Sea’ (Davy Jones) and ‘King Rumbaba-thingamijig creating two great characters! Another who worked the audience well, congrats sir, good job!  Rebel Moore, took on the role of the ‘Castaway’. Confident, good mannerisms, totally comfortable throughout, gave her character life… be proud!  June Dowd played one of our ‘baddies’ ‘Will Atkins’, described as a ‘sea-faring rogue’… and rogue she was!  Confident, worked the audience well, great characterisation… well done June… good job! Patrick McNulty played Squire Perkins, Polly’s dad and owner of the ‘The Cross-Eyed Buccaneer’, again played the part well, good characterisation…well done Patrick!  Carole Cunliffe was the ‘Spirit of the Sea’… ‘Aquamarina’… played the part well… good job Carole, congrats! 

The ensemble … (Townspeople, Sailors and Native chorus) Bella Bannister, Eve Bentham, Katie Jones, Hannah Robertson, Emilia Livesey, Freya Pennington, Freya Sixsmith, Brogan Keane, Rafael Livesey, Hayley Bentham, Virginia Birkett, Julie Bradshaw, Shelia Livesey, Veronica Livesey, Rachael Sixsmith.
  
Never one to ‘shirk’ responsibility… can I now identify MY three favourite performances…
1. Darren Robertson made a wonderful ‘Mrs Crusoe’ (Dame), mother of Robinson and Billy. Confident, good stage presence with great comic timing!  If I may offer one small piece of constructive advice…be ever so careful when wearing a hat. The chef’s hat, because of its positioning, hid most of your face and more importantly your eyes… when this happens, you do lose so much!  But great job anyway!

2. Ann Wasley – ‘Barnacle Bill’ – the ‘Bosun from Billinge’ had me ‘rolling in the aisle’!  Even having to guide/help her new ‘comedy partner’, which she ever so well, Ann’s performance was hilarious!  From her first entrance to her last, I genuinely do not think I stopped laughing!  Amazing stage presence, great characterisation, great comic timing, great facial expressions, be ever so proud Ann, job well done girl!

3.  To have taken ‘stand out’ performance away from Ann Wasley, we needed something special and Debbie Jones provided just that, playing the role of ‘Hullabalulu’ the Witch Doctor. ‘Hullabalulu’ only appears in Act 2  but what an impact she made to this production!  Confident, powerful stage presence, wonderful sustained accent, looked amazing, totally assured throughout and made this part her own!  Well done young lady, amazing job!

Lighting and Sound… under the supervision of Caitriona Muir. Lighting was good, but St Michael’s Church Hall is not the easiest place to get good sound and we did have a few issues, but nothing that detracted from the overall production.  Well done Caitriona, you deserve a medal for just climbing those ladders… job well done!   Set and Scenery… was excellent. Good colourful backdrops, supported by painted stage legs which looked wonderful, congrats to Ian Fields, Darren Robertson and David Palin… great job!  Costumes/Props… were bright, colourful, apt and in keeping with the time and locations.  Congratulations to Charades Theatrical Costume Hire – quality costumes and to Ian Field for the props.

Not wanting to detract from the success of this pantomime, but if I may offer two pieces of ‘constructive advice’… a) Never forget to smile - ‘A smile can make you and others happy’ – Roy T. Bennett.  b) Some great recognisable songs in this production with what appeared to be new ‘wordy’ verses with the same recognisable chorus’s… it’s important we hear ‘every word’ from both VERSE and chorus… if you know what I mean!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, as always it is a real privilege and a pleasure attending a St Michael’s productions! Looking forward already to ‘Murdered to Death’ in May… thanks again, stay safe and keep well everyone, hope David and Karen are back fit and well soon!

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

 

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