FringeReview UK 2024
Treasure Island
Orange Tree Theatre
Genre: Adaptation, classical, Costume, Feminist Theatre, Mainstream Theatre, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Youth Theatre
Venue: Orange Tree Theatre Richmond
Festival: FringeReview UK
Low Down
Hannah Khalil’s version of Treasure Island arrives directed by outgoing Carne Associate Director of the Orange Tree, Natasha Rickman. Blink. It ends December 22nd. But does often play twice daily.
This is first-rate youth theatre, creatives and cast excel: detailed, funny, not to be taken over-seriously, then quite a bit more so. The possibility of re-telling, of re-edifying the narrative to make it both more truthful (even as fiction) as well as accessible makes this special.
Review
What a difference a year makes to Christmas plays round the Orange Tree. Last year two performers held us with their version of A Christmas Carol. But 23? So in traditionally the busiest theatre week of the year, Artistic Director Tom Littler pauses his acclaimed Twelfth Night, giving the cast a well-earned break in their two months traversal. For a community theatre project. Such is the magnificence of the Orange Tree ‘s traditions: but never before has a community theatre boasted 23 actors for just seven performances.
Hannah Khalil’s 110-minute version of Treasure Island arrives directed by outgoing Carne Associate Director of the Orange Tree, Natasha Rickman. Blink. It ends December 22nd. But does often play twice daily.
Being Khalil, and recalling her treatment of the 1001 Nights in the Globe’s Hakawatis in 2022, you’d hope Khalil would skein in more storytelling than in the Stevenson original; and she does. Pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read muscle in, and female pirates are celebrated. There’s an historical postlude too. One of Khalil’s strengths is as multi-stranded storyteller: it means this is fresh, engagingly re-gendered and just a bit accurate too.
Divided into Green (tonight) and Red teams, the 11 not playing named roles in that performance play the extras. This is an outstanding way of launching young actors aged 18 and not much older, some of whom are about to enter drama school; and some already looking to leap straight in. Only one actor Parrot and Nine Lives (Taz Rahman) performs wittily in both versions. Each team learns off each other, more specifically their opposite number. If this sounds like Theatre in Education, forget I said that. It isn’t: this is as presented outstanding youth theatre.
Creatives from the other current production and others are bought in, including movement director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, and (equally essential) fight director Philip d’Orléans. Swords are worryingly real, and occasional slow-mo a sound decision! Utilising the deep brass floor of the Twelfth Night set but replacing the piano on revolve with a large square grey platform doing duty as pub, ship, island and dizzying the actors’ sense of an exit point, designers Neil Irish and Anett Black ensure the costumes speak for everything else, and Evelien Van Camp’s costume supervision is equally dizzying in its turnaround.
Lit by William Reynolds everything is allowed surprising space to breathe: balconies are appropriated. A natural tendency to bustle is consummately avoided by Deakin-Foster, tableaux readily lodge in the memory. Musical director Paula James conveys infectious fun with arrangements sung lustily, including “What Shall We Do” and one for cheese that’s infectious: in this space neatly contained by Lex Kosanke’s sound design.
More than the bones, as it were of the story are laid bare. And “Jim lad” ejaculations are cheerfully binned. Khalil has also divided Jim himself as narrator Older Jim (engaging and certainly haunted Alex Bousfield on this occasion compels attention, and Tanya Kovarchka). Older Jim’s ambivalent over whether he should warn his younger self or Young Jim (Kit Riou burningly sincere here, and Apple Rozas-Lipman).
The Long John Silver of Angus Alderson is already the most memorable, youthful Silver I’ve seen, shadowed by Japhia Papa Marfo who in discussions alongside Alferson afterwards show how this fun production is deeply serious: each team brings a different flavour, but in essentials it’s the same. Alderson snakes and sinews his danger, soft-spoken and whip-sharp, he’d make an excellent Steerpike too.
Eileen/Rafty (Agnes Halladay here, Ana Joao) makes her mark early as Jim’ anxious pub landlady mother, darting shadow and love. Dr Livesey (a captivating and authoritative Bronte Sherborne, elsewhere Avani Zarine) gives the most contained performance alongside Alderson. Sherborne lends a touch of gravitas and moral compass.
A straight-up Captain Smollett (Emma Judge managing a touch of nobility in a two-dimensioned character, alternating with Emily Ash), and Squire Trelawney (Joshua Lendon here, otherwise Michael Neckham) readily blusters: this shallowness takes some depths and Lendon fathoms his foolery.
Anne Bonny (India Rissik here, or Kaci Kerwick) is now Silver’s rebellious wife. Why not? Rissik gives a sparkling edgy performance, here more rebellious than Silver himself, and the murderous threats of gendered violence are spat back between Rissik and Alderson.
Mary Read (Farah Jennela here, also Katie Rough) contrasts with a comedic desperado, and both enjoy their postlude. Ro Barber’s recent novel Nothing Becoming oddly ends Read’s story, bar an epilogue involving Anne Bonny, when she’s 14. If she saw this Barber might write a sequel.
Billy Bones/Cutthroat Cal (Layla Shurmer here, and Nadia Sweeney) enjoys corpsing their own death at the outset, Bones being the bigger role.
Ben Gunn particularly and earlier luckless Moby Matti are taken with a different other-worldly energy by Adi Rehman (here) and Rosie Glynn). Rehman is both engagingly comic eeit his cheese, and touched with pathos, but also pulses with Gunn’s strangeness: one that preceded not having talked to a soul for three years.
This is first-rate youth theatre, creatives and cast excel: detailed, funny, not to be taken over-seriously, then quite a bit more so. The possibility of re-telling, of re-edifying the narrative to make it both more truthful (even as fiction) as well as accessible makes this special.
Associate Director Madi Mahoney, Associate Fight Director Ronin Traynor, Stage Manager on book Nell Thomas, Assistant Stage Manager Waverley Moran
Production & Technical Director Phil Bell, Senior Production Technician Andrew Owen Cook, Production Technician Priya Virdee, ASM Waverley Moran, Production Electrician Chris Galler.
