Treasure Island

It was good to get back to the Memorial Hall in Amlwch for the first time since 2019, such a good venue for a production. The large hall has a good sized stage with modern lighting and sound system. As with all productions from Amlwch Showstoppers the cast are always having a ball on stage and this in turn creates a great atmosphere within the audience.

The Group have been attempting to stage this panto (Treasure Island by Ben Crocker), since 2020 but have been scuppered by Covid three times. It was fourth time lucky as the show finally went ahead in July. However, the dreaded Coronavirus did raise its ugly head once more as an important member of the cast, Gareth O’Reilly, tested positive a day before the show and had to drop out, this forced Director, Ruth Purton to step in last minute to play the part of Squire Trelawney. In turn, Ruth’s minor role of Billy Bones was taken by Stage Manager Bethan Purton. No stranger to the stage herself, Bethan provided us with a purposely over acted early death scene which had the audience in stitches. The role of Mrs Hawkins was played by Jason Walker who always delivers great comedy in the parts he undertakes. The romantic leads, Jim Hawkins and Jenny Trelawney were played by Caitlin Jones and Katrina Purton respectively. Both gave strong performances and were very confident in all their tasks. Zoe Thompson and Daniel Jones took the roles of Seadog Sam and Seaweed Willy, both gave excellent portrayals with fine voice projection.

Good contribution from The Ladies of the W.I. were played by some younger members of the cast, Imogene Walker, Ellie-May Cowell, Harriet Thompson, Sydney O’Reilly and Eden Jones, all fully justifying their selection. In terms of the Villains, we had Blood Boiler, played by Eirlys Walker and Gizzard Slitter by Olwen Jones and the mighty           Fridge played by Gabi Purton. The leader of the Baddies was of course, Long John Silver played incredibly by Rachel Jones, who demanded the attention of the audience each time she appeared. The part of Ben Gunn was a pleasant surprise, it was played by young William Thomas who has really matured with his stagecraft. His characterisation was memorable which points to a rosy future for him if he continues on this path. Congratulations Will. Gabbey Allan as Polly, Ellie-May Cowell as Kittie and Sam Broadley as Captain Bloodheart, completed the main cast.

A really good and enjoyable production from Amlwch  Showstoppers  once again.

Thank you for your invitation.

This is the opinion of the Reviewer.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.