Debbie and her children won the prize of a family trip to Treasure Island last week at The West Yorkshire Playhouse, in return for a wee review…wish we had gone!
Shamefully I have to admit never to have read the classic tale of Treasure Island by Robert L Stevenson so I was looking forward to discovering the story with the help of Wee Stories Production. My three little companions were in the same boat as me (if you will excuse the pun) unsure of what they were about to see, knowing only there would be lots of piratey shenanagins. We were seated right on the front row hoping the pirates would be fairly polite and not spit too often!
We were introduced to a shipwrecked duo on their makeshift raft squabbling like a married couple and obviously in need of a distraction or two to pass the time. It was then that they had the idea to reenact scenes from their own copy of the book, Treasure Island, switching effortlessly from earnest and eager young shipmates and numerous crew members to swashbuckling vulgar drunken pirates – in fact this in itself was a talented feat for the two actors: small details such as a striped bandana determined one pirate from the other but clever acting and a multitude of accents kept the pace fast, interesting and entertaining. The raft was transformed into pirate ships and the double bass became a sail in such an ingenious transformation it triggered spontaneous applause. There was plenty of toilet gags and rude noises to keep the little ones giggling but my favourite amongst the many references to all things nautical was a call to ‘lower the standard’ at which point the Captain picked his nose.
In the interval, one of my little companions explained that they would be setting up the island props as we sipped our drinks. However, we should have known the resourceful duo that are Wee Productions would manage to transform their raft cum pirate ship into a lovely castaway island with just a few tea chests moved here and there and a wooden stockade, an essential location for the final shoot out, fashioned from bits of the hull. The introduction of Ben Gun, the guy with all the answers to the treasure, was for me and my smallest boy, the highlight of the night. Why? Because Ben Gun was a mop, toilet plunger and two googly eyes – more expressive than any posh ventriloquist’s dummy and very very funny. The occasional bursts into song with a ukalale and the double bass (when it wasn’t a sail) were catchy and welcome as was the encouragement of audience participation along the way with piratey growling and singing to add a touch of panto. The sparkling cave full of treasure and Ben Gun on the drums finished the story off beautifully!
We can’t wait to read the book now! And the two actors deserved their bottle of rum to warm their tum after such a great effort. Thankyou from all four of us.
Say hi to Debbie at @frankly_mydear_