Treasure Island - Tread the Boards deliver top quality performance
Abigail Drennan. Photo by Fuzfilms.
Treasure Island performed by Tread the Boards at The Attic Theatre, Cox's Yard, Bridge Foot Street, Stratford-upon-Avon from 10 to 26 August.
Review by Charles Essex.
Since their last run with this play in 2019, resident Attic Theatre company Tread the Boards (TTB) has given Treasure Island a wonderful updated makeover. Directed and adapted by John Partridge, this Robert Louis Stevenson classic is a top-drawer production.
Matt Rousseau is ideal as ingenu Jack Hawkins, conveying an innocence when dealing with buccaneers like Bill Bones (George Ormerod).
Fight director Emily Tietz choreographed impressive swordplay between the pirate Blackdog (John Partridge) and Billy Bones, as well as other fight scenes.
Matt Rousseau and Joshua Chandos. Photo by Fuzfilms.
With the demise of Billy Bones, George reappears as dim Squire Trelawney. Intent on finding the treasure, Trelawney recruits Smollet (John Partridge again) to captain the ship. There are numerous humorous scenes throughout the play such as when authoritarian Captain Smollet tries to drill the crew. John is such an accomplished actor that he has no difficulty resurfacing as the deranged shipwrecked Ben Gunn, with a witty running gag about cheese.
As the ship passes through the Bermuda Triangle there is a clever scene as a range of triangles are used to convey the mysterious location.
John-Robert Partridge. Photo by Fuzfilms.
Joshua Chandos, who showed his versatility recently in TTB’s The Three Musketeers and All Shakespeare’s Plays in 97 minutes, was ideal as Long John Silver, with a range of expressions. Abigail Drennan was frequently on stage, skilfully oscillating between characters Dr Livesey and pirate Dick O’Brien, whilst Megan Kaur and Wilson McDowell played an assortment of characters.
The cast is word perfect, with impeccable timing. The use of songs, often only a few lines put together as a medley, raised many laughs. This was in effect a summer pantomime, but was much more sophisticated than the term implies, yet it had enough humour to appeal to young audience members as well as jokes and humorous cultural references for the adults.
TTB never fails to impress with their inventiveness and the quality of their performances. This is no exception. There is still plenty of time to catch this play and TTB deserves full houses to enjoy this production.
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