Robinson Crusoe

Nestled within the fabric of Donnington stands the Little Theatre, which now proudly celebrates its 70th year of performing to the local community. The respected community theatre born out of the tumultuous times of World War II has had an incredible journey from its original military ownership to the proud community theatre that it stands for today.

There is a real sense of community and family, which is clear both on stage and front of house. In 1954 the theatre debuted with its first production ‘Robinson Crusoe’ so what a fitting tribute to those that bravely trod the boards by performing an updated version of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ by Joshua Dixon in 2024.

This swashbuckling adventure of Robinson Crusoe really did get the audience going very early on and from that moment I knew that we were all in for a great evening. There were plenty of local references added to the script, appropriate and respectful audience participation, and colourful and abundant costumes.

Nina Aver who has the ability to ensure that everyone is able to participate in the dance routines provided the choreography, whilst CJ Allen led with an array of energetic musical accompaniment with the small but beautifully sounding band. The musical sound track to this pantomime had been well chosen, with plenty of variety.

It was great to hear the chorus singing being supported by those off stage (including the prompt – Annika Dixon) and by the principal characters, this did add to a more rounded sound with some lovely harmonies. The mix and balance between sound, music and vocals was excellent.

Lighting was good with lights being used to create the mood of each scene, enhance the villains and provide the appropriate blackouts for the many, many scene changes required in this fast paced pantomime. Special mention about the UV scene, which worked particularly well, I loved the addition of a singing Octopus along with the naughty nautical octopi and the tropical fish. Well done to the stage crew for keeping up with the scene changes to ensure that the production kept its momentum.  I loved the cartoon style scenery around the proscenium arch and the cut out houses; unfortunately the projected backdrops used were only clearly visible when the lights were dimmed on stage, which was a real shame.

There had been some interesting decisions made when it came to make up and some of the finer details that I know had been applied from photographs posted on social media were not visible from further back in the auditorium.

Jessie Bracken whose vocal skills provided us with some lovely singing played the title role of Robinson Crusoe. Every lead of course needs an onstage love interest, which was fulfilled beautifully by Sally Birdseye, played by Chloe Mann. Geoff Powell took on the role of Sally’s father but was better known as Captain Birdseye. The Captains tales were told well and became very poignant in the final tale that linked back to the very first production.

Lisa Adams as the Sorceress of the Seven Seas and Leigh Kendal as the Enchantress of the ocean took on the roles of good versus evil. I was impressed with both actresses’ songs and thought they were well suited to their voices.

The ‘baddie’ was played by Neil Armstrong as Blackheart the pirate ably assisted by Cathy Rawlings as Cockle and Jamie Green as Winkle. This trio was a good combination and I loved the variety of accents used by all.

There were three performances that stood out on the evening. Indradroop Chakrabohty as Mrs Crusoe whose charm, natural ability for comedy and his full emersion into the character was excellent. Kimberley Cassells as the Scouse Parrot known as Friday who again had the audience eating out of her hand with her natural comed and finally Simon Lloyd as Billy Crusoe.  Simon’s energy levels were off the scale, his comedy and generally daftness were spot on and the audience were fully committed to shouting ‘Ahoy there Billy’ right from the off. The weather report complete with the super soaker meant that it was fun all the way and despite outing me as the NODA rep during the shout outs and asking for a good review he still gets a good write up.

There were some lovely touches in this show, the ‘we’ll have to do it again scene’ complete with gorilla and the tune of ‘Green Green Grass’, the fairy bubble wand, the talking parrot that with a little magic turns into Friday, the sing along complete with actions which got the audience up on their feet and much, much more.

Overall everything that you need for a pantomime, a great night out for all of the family and most of all good old fashioned entertainment on every level.

Ian Clark (Director) had chosen his cast well and I am sure he is beaming with the end results because I certainly was as I left the auditorium.

The learning from the past 70 years of productions has really paid off, this was a slick military production, faced paced with enough time for a lovely cup of tea in the interval. The audience loved being involved from the very start and this was a pantomime that could be enjoyed by the whole family.

 

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