Tag Archives: Helen Tope

Treasure Island

Treasure Island

★★★★

Barbican Theatre Plymouth

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Treasure Island

Treasure Island

 Barbican Theatre at Plymouth Athenaeum

Reviewed – 15th December 2019

★★★★

 

“A perfect Christmas show for those who don’t do panto, Le Navet Bete foregoes festive sentiment, to deliver an uplifting message”

 

A story of false friends and greedy pirates, Treasure Island may not seem like the obvious choice for a Christmas story, but Le Navet Bete’s new show, written and directed by John Nicholson aims to convert you.

Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, the show blends physical comedy with classic story-telling. In this reboot of the treasure-hunting story, Jim Hawkins (played by Nick Bunt) heads out on a dangerous adventure when former sailor Billy Bones arrives at the family’s inn, the Admiral Benbow, and starts telling him stories about a notorious Captain Flint.

Billy, former first mate to Flint, has inherited his treasure map. During a fight at the inn, Bones unexpectedly dies. On going through the sailor’s belongings, Hawkins finds the map, stitched safe in the lining of a trunk.

A ship and crew are amassed, along with Long John Silver (Al Dunn) as the ship’s cook. With the crew and map, Hawkins sets sail. As their journey begins, Hawkins befriends Silver. Despite growing close to the boy, Silver may not be telling Hawkins the whole truth.

Hawkins not only learns about the world, he works out how to negotiate his way through it. Treasure Island may seem like Boys’ Own territory, but the production’s ideas of loyalty, trust and friendship have the capacity to reach out to everyone.

These ideas also resonate more sharply with us because they seem, at first, to be old-fashioned. We smile at Jim trusting an old rogue – it’s when the boy starts trusting himself, that Stevenson has us. As Hawkins grows in confidence, and begins to outwit those with their eye on the treasure, Le Navet Bete dare us to remain impartial. We’re all Team Hawkins by the interval’s dramatic cliffhanger.

The show also fills in the gaps around the Jim Hawkins / Long John Silver narrative. The back story – and who else might have a stake in the treasure – is fleshed out in more detail. Le Navet Bete remind us that when it comes to classics, we may not know them as well as we think we do. The production gives Stevenson’s story an edge of apprehension. We are never quite sure what is going to happen next.

Of course, the piece has great fun with Stevenson’s book. There’s some wonderful design elements from Fi Russell  and some fitting music from Peter Coyte. Long John Silver’s parrot gets a 21st century rebrand; to redress the gender balance, a seductive mermaid is introduced (Matt Freeman). In ratcheting up the tension, you may leave the show never wanting to eat a fish finger again.

Le Navet Bete’s strength is in finding stories that match their collaborative spirit. With Treasure Island, Dunn, Bunt, Freeman and fourth member of the cast Dan Bianchi  have created a version of Stevenson’s novel that not only entertains, it refreshes the narrative for a modern audience. It does equal service to Stevenson and to those who may be coming to the story for the first time. Ideal for children who love an adventure, Treasure Island is a great alternative to the usual pantomime. Pirates instead of genies; mermaids instead of princesses. Dive into another world this Christmas – there’s treasure to be found.

A perfect Christmas show for those who don’t do panto, Le Navet Bete foregoes festive sentiment, to deliver an uplifting message from Stevenson himself. Adventure, however you determine it, proves the real reward.

 

Reviewed by Helen Tope

Photography by Matt Austin

 


Treasure Island

 Barbican Theatre at Plymouth Athenaeum until 5th January

 

Previously reviewed by Helen:
One Under | ★★★★ | October 2019

 

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One Under

★★★★

Theatre Royal Plymouth

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One Under

One Under

Theatre Royal Plymouth

Reviewed – 24th October 2019

★★★★

 

“being brave enough to leave parts of the story untold pushes this drama into a different league”

 

A young man jumps in front of a train. An act witnessed by the driver, Cyrus (Stanley J. Browne) who sits and waits to be interviewed by the police. His colleague reassures him that this will all be textbook. A few questions, make a statement. Cyrus will be offered a few weeks off work to recover. His colleague urges him to keep his testimony short and to the point; no ifs or buts. No-one wants an inquest.

But Cyrus has doubts – did the boy wave at him, just before he jumped? Did he mean to jump at all? We fast forward a few months, meeting Nella, the boy’s mother. She has befriended a local man, eager to help out doing jobs around the house, digging the garden. Cyrus has found the boy’s family, and makes himself indispensable. He is convinced that Sonny (Reece Pantry) has left clues behind. An unfinished drink, a launderette ticket. The fall is just the start of the story.

Cyrus begins an obsessive journey into Sonny’s last days – he urges Nella to remember any detail that may help, while Sonny’s sister Zoe (Evlyne Oyedokun) becomes aware of the stranger who has worked his way into her mother’s life. As she learns more about him, it becomes clear that Cyrus’ motivation runs far deeper than the cleansing of guilt.

Like every good thriller, One Under doesn’t leave us with every plot point examined; some threads are left exposed. What this production does especially well is to focus on the complex web of relationships that tell the story.

Diving in and out of the past, we are piecing together the narrative, a chain of events, just like Cyrus. We are led through a maze, first this possibility, then the next. But here, every false turn leads us closer to the truth. It isn’t until the final scene, and the last card is revealed, that we uncover a truth far more unsettling than previously imagined.

One Under, written by Winsome Pinnock, tackles some weighty subjects: suicide, trauma, the impact of grief. But cleverly, Pinnock frames the play’s ideas about these subjects against a handful of characters. To counter the dark nature of what is being discussed, Pinnock applies a lightness of touch – a spare set, just a few props and a cast of five. It stops us from feeling overwhelmed – it also gives the moments of heightened drama a real potency. Director Amit Sharma keeps a tight hold of the story; moving us quickly from past and present, home and work; perception and reality.

During the play’s 90 minutes, we become acquainted with the characters. A mother’s grief – so clearly visible that she clings to the kindness of strangers; a man haunted by an accident, turning his life upside down in the pursuit of answers. The cast work together beautifully, with Clare Louise English as Christine, and Shenagh Govan as Nella, in particular grounding the play with an emotional realism.

By using the thriller genre, One Under moves away from the ordinary; a sense of the domestic shifts dramatically into tension and fear. The key change is palpable, as the energy moves, and we find ourselves wrong-footed yet again.

One Under is a keenly enjoyable experience – and being brave enough to leave parts of the story untold pushes this drama into a different league. Complex and darkly satisfying, One Under proves that when drama moves beyond formula, anything can happen.

 

Reviewed by Helen Tope

Photography by Patrick Baldwin

 


One Under

Theatre Royal Plymouth until 26th Octobers

 

 

 

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