Treasure Island

The familiar story was given much more of a pantomime approach and worked extremely well.The story opens at the Admiral Benbow hostelry with the full cast enjoying an evening of revelry and singing ' Oom pah pah'  from Oliver, which set the tone and pace for the whole show.

This was the second of the two night production and a two-thirds full audience seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

The programme supplied the bare essentials but did highlight the cast changes over the two nights.

The set was mostly a backdrop comprising The Admiral Benbow, the shop and the island itself. This was augmented by a perch for the parrot stage left and a table and a box stage right. This arrangement worked well as there was a large cast who were able to move around freely.

The lighting and sound reflected the various locations and the cast were particularly ebullient for the musical numbers.

The costumes were themed to the various group, the Captains, the sailors and the townsfolk so it was easy to work out what everyone's role was and whom therefore to cheer and whom to boo.

The songs used covered the decades and the dancing reflected the general enthusiasm.

Mrs Hawkins Bizzare ( Jim's Mum ),  played by Frank Bingham, was the archtypical Pantomime Dame, whilst Blind Pew played by Rachel Stone in full period costume and wrap-around dark glasses was seriously enthusiastic. Long John Silver (Aaron Danvers -Jukes)  played his part with tremendous panache.

As always with First Act it is a real joy to watch with the cast clearly enjoying themselves by just being there for the show.

Mention should be made of the professional and semi-final professionals on stage who not only took part in the entire show but guided, and where necessary prompted the players.

All in all a very enjoyable evening and a credit to everyone involved in the production, including Shanklin theatre.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.