Treasure Island

Vale Royal Musical Theatre Company were back with their latest pantomime ‘Treasure Island’ written by Ben Crocker. I entered the auditorium to a custom-built set of three flats forming a backdrop of a dock, ocean and island. The initial set was dressed with some barrels, wooden chairs, tankards and rum bottles, I instantly felt like I was awaiting some sort of get together and a party to begin. What would have been lovely to see at this point is some lighting focus on the set and a dimmer auditorium to give an overall theatrical event. I felt that leaving the main hall lights on distracted from what could be a great theatrical experience.

Backing tracks were used for this production and kicked in with ‘Drunken Sailor’ with the cast portraying a ‘Benbow’ party acting drunk and having a great time. Unfortunately the majority of the cast missed the entrance of the song and as such, we got a cannonball (excuse the pun) effect of people joining in. This was overshadowed by sound issues from the start. The opening of the show needed to capture the audience with a bang, and I felt that everything had been directed towards the back of the stage with the ensemble squashed in around tables. The beauty of this theatrical space is that everything could have been brought further forward which would have impacted the audience greatly.

We were greeted by a traditional pantomime dame Mrs Hawkins, played by Gary Wallis. For me Gary certainly looked the part with his outrageous wigs and fab dresses. I especially liked the sailor dress with life buoy attached to it and the ghost costume complete with lips and eyes was a genius idea! Well done to Katy Proudman and company for the costume design on this. The dame in any pantomime needs to be loud and full of life and character. With Gary, I got a lot of lines that were a little mumbled and that he found funnier than perhaps the audience did. With clearer diction and some more stagecraft, Gary could have lifted the production to another level. Gary did however have some rapport with the audience.

Jim Hawkins played by Pamela Hewitt gave us the typical leading principal boy that we have all come to know and love. Pamela had some fantastic stage presence and a warm personality on stage. Her vocals in her low register came across strong in ‘Dancing in the street’ however while pushing for those stronger rifts and high notes, I felt that her voice needed more support.

We arrived in Pirates Bay to meet the infamous rough and ready pirates, along with the menacing Long John Silver, played by Jake Broadhurt. Jake had great stage presence and an accent he managed to maintain for the entire show. Jake certainly looked the part and came across tough and to fight anyone that stood in his way.

In this scene the props team had come up with a fire that was lit from the inside and looked brilliant on stage and gave a focal point during the pirates’ song ‘Spanish Ladies’. The pirates were played by James Bebbington, Oliver Bancroft and Victoria Gaffney-Lovatt. At times I felt that the pirates were not given the opportunity to shine individually as they were often blocked by others or hidden away. A good example of an opportunity to really shine was when they were dressed as ladies. I must point out that ‘The Fridge’ played by Victoria Gaffney-Lovett delivered her dialogue well with a thick Birmingham accent and clear diction.

Squire Trelawney, played by David Golding, lacked some characteristics associated with a pompous and upper class character. David often came in late for his entrances and forgot his lines. Perhaps opening night nerves had crept in?

Seaweed Sam & Willy played by Alex Sant and Audrey Mellor were cast as the comedy duo. For me, the comedy was missing, and I felt that they were under-rehearsed as lines were often forgotten and accents dropped. Again the sound of the production let these two actors down as the microphones were placed far too close to their mouths that we got pops, breath and echo.

Polly the Parrot played by Leanne Brereton was genius casting! As soon as Leanne entered the stage, she had me in the palm of her hand (or wings). Her delivery and comic timing was natural, her can’t be bothered attitude portrayed on stage made the audience laugh in all the right places and her urge to sit on Long John Silver’s shoulder had me wanting more of her on stage. I especially loved that Leanne is from the North-East and used her thick accent which worked seamlessly throughout the production, well done Leanne!

Sound is always the biggest concern for any production, and I felt that sound in this show massively let the overall quality down. Only a handful of cast members were mic'd throughout which meant that the levels in scenes were greatly affected, backing vocals were missed throughout as principals were only mic'd and the sound cues were often sloppy coming in and out throughout scenes. The noticeable problems with sound were mainly due to the fact microphones were far too close to the performers mouths and that performers kept moving them. 

The W.I ladies did not look out of place, and I can imagine any of them baking some fine goods and they all seemed to be having a great time on stage. Mrs Parker, played by Samantha Hatton, gave a noticeable performance with her upper-class delivery and demeanour. Her facial expressions throughout the show added to overall reaction and I would find myself checking in often with her to see what she was doing even when the focus was not on her.

In panto, the audience often look forward to some slapstick moments and in true pantomime style the script offered the opportunity to the cast to do so. The cake making scene and water guns at dawn offered the director the perfect opportunity to deliver a choreographed moment of fun and water fight which was a bit of a free for all; the audience enjoyed it nearly as much as the cast. I enjoyed the comedy use of the ‘Bake Off’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘Marks & Spencer’ theme tunes in some of the scenes, and felt these added to the comedy moments creating a great atmosphere.

The ensemble in pantomime offer those moments of joy to any audience and while the choreography by Amy Weedall, Samantha Hatton and Katy Proudman was a little basic, the cast got behind it. For me, one member of the company (Stacey Lamb) outshone everyone both with her solo moments and within group numbers, her stage presence came across well and she held great lines throughout her routines. I especially enjoyed the ghost dance but wanted much more!

Lighting by Craig Poole was very apt. I felt at times could have been much more creative, especially in the cave scene, however, the cast were visible at all times.

Scene changes were painful and the fact that they were really visible made the whole process really uncomfortable to watch. I noticed that the show had a strong crew of 6 (more than I often see on more complex shows) but I felt that there was no haste in changing the scenes. In some moments the cast could have easily assisted with changes to keep the show flowing. Noticeably the fact that none of the scene changes had any music playing under them added to the awkward silences and length of these changes.

The set and props looked great; I would have personally liked to have seen more of a set as the space certainly would allow for it. The set itself could have been moved forward a little to avoid the congestion of exits and entrances to and from stage.

Overall, this felt like it was a little unrehearsed, with cast members forgetting lines and laughing on stage. Diction and characterisation was dropped or missing throughout, along with many ‘adult’ innuendos that could have been played out much more! There were some awkward moments when we could hear the cast whispering backstage, seeing cast members in full costume in the foyer sorting out tickets and wearing their own personal jewellery (including Apple watches).

It was disheartening to only see the audience around thirty percent full, which of course, could impact the feeling of the cast on stage. However, it was clear that friends and family were often laughing out loud and supporting those on stage.

I’d like to thank Vale Royal for their hospitality and wish them good luck for Young Frankenstein in July 2023.

Ben Ireson

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