Treasure Island

Bacup Royal Court Theatre’s youth society BYTES kindly invited me to review their latest production: Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. A fantastical tale of pirates and treasure maps, mutiny, and greed. Narrated by the main protagonist Jim Hawkins, the story follows Jim on his journey to find buried treasure. He befriends then is betrayed by Long John Silver, the infamous peg legged pirate.

Director Regina Arkwright created a lively show with plenty of action and laugh aloud moments. The company were enthusiastic and animated. The spacing on stage was good with attention paid to blocking. Regina had worked closely with her cast, and we saw some clever and often funny performances. Assistant Director and Choreographer, Janice Purslow whipped the company into shape with some jaunty dance moves. The chorus were enjoying themselves as they performed in unison, with smiling faces. Regina and Janice worked hand in hand on this production, even providing the costumes as BRCT’s Heads of Wardrobe. Costumes looked fabulous, I particularly liked the outfit and wig worn by Long John Silver. His actual leg concealed to give the illusion of a wooden/peg leg. The costumes on all the cast, combined with the wigs worn, were perfect. Ellen Rose Pilkington was the vocal coach for this production. Dialogue was clear and individual songs strong, the soloists confident. Chorus numbers were sung in harmony with gusto.

Set Design by Paul Ashworth was impressive, the audience were treated to a tavern, with bar and tables and a backdrop of a fireplace and stove. Also, a ships deck with balcony and wheel, a backdrop of rigging and ships bow, amongst other scenes. His crew were kept busy with scene changes that ran smoothly under the watchful eye of Stage Manager Guy Gibbs. Props supplied by Stephen Woods were authentic and dressed the scenes nicely. Rob Hames created the sound design, there were a couple of minor crackles on the mics, but Rob dealt with them swiftly and the cast projected through them. Sound was clear, music was a nice mix of voice to melody. Lighting design by Andrew Holden was atmospheric, some beautiful effects on the ship with purples and blues, and the spotlights used throughout were on point.

Charlotte Ferris played the role of Jim Hawkins. As the narrator of the show, Charlotte had a huge amount of dialogue which she delivered with passion and feeling. Charlotte has a natural stage presence that draws the eye. She is animated, always giving her performance that something extra. Her solo was haunting and beautifully sung. A great all-round performance.

Kobi Mottley appeared as Long John Silver. Kobi was strong and confident in this role. His mannerisms were great, he moved with a peg legged swagger around the stage. He had some funny moments with some excellent comic timing. Even as an evil double-crossing mutineer Kobi was impressive, his characterisation was wonderful.

Amelia Connolly gave an inspiring performance as Captain Smollett. Her dialogue was clear, her solo gentle and lilting. Amelia has strong stage presence, with excellent timing.

Mrs Hawkins, Jim’s mother was played by Isabelle Kershaw. Isabelle gave an impressive performance, as the only female character in the show, she played her role with feeling. Showing us a strong woman capable of anything. Isabelle put emotion into her characterisation, a super performance.

I thought Bella Moore’s performance as Dr. Livesey was first-rate. Bella was great at projecting, her vocals clear and assured. Her stage presence was strong, and she used the stage well. Bella had confidence; I really enjoyed her performance.

Buddy Oddy was excellent as Dead Eye Dick, he had great comic timing. His pairing with Penny Harrison, who played Cut Throat Jake was inspired. Penny was equally brilliant with her comedy timing, and they seemed to bounce off each other. The difference in height between the two was played upon, the duet they sang had the audience laughing aloud. I was impressed with both Buddy and Penny; I thought the accents they employed were simply perfect for their characters. Well done both.

Sofia Hindley was fabulous as Ben Gunn, a pirate who had been marooned on Treasure Island for numerous years. Her character, driven mad by solitude was jolly funny. Sofia’s: Cheese song was hilarious, the audience loved it.

Billy Bones was played by Melody James. Melody was great as the drunken, tall tale telling pirate. She performed with confidence, her vocals clear and loud.

Chloe Stanistreet played Blind Pew, her characterisation of the nasty blind pirate issuing the ‘black spot’ to Billy Bones was great. She was menacing and dangerous, a fabulous performance.

Raiah Codd was great as Black Dog. A pirate at odds with Billy Bones. Raiah gave her character an intimidating vibe, a pirate not to be messed with. A notable performance from Raiah.

Samual Jack gave commendable performance as Collier Pilkington, then he doubled up to form part of the pirate crew along with Maya, Calleigh, Jake, Maisie-Jade, and Amelia. The pirate crew were animated, lively and looked great in their costumes. I enjoyed every performance. This was a wonderful show, both cast and crew worked hard, and the audience response was loud and appreciative, many standing in ovation.

It is always a pleasure to visit Bacup Royal Court Theatre. The BRCT front of house team are welcoming and friendly. I would like to extend a thank you to Cath Moran, who always pops over to say hello, and to everyone at BRCT for inviting me to review their youth society BYTES. I look forward to seeing many more shows in the future.

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