London
Treasure Island: by Robert Louis Stevenson
adapted by Bryony Lavery
Olivier Theatre,
National Theatre,
Upper Ground,
South Bank,
London SE1 9PX
7.00pm; mats 2.00pm, Wed, Sat, Suns and other days – see website for mats
Audio-Described perfs: Sat, Jan 24, 2.00pm (Touch tour at 12.30pm); Sat Feb 28, 2.00pm, (Touch Tour at 12.30pm)
Captioned perfs: Sun Jan 25, 2.00pm; Tues Feb 17, 7.00pm
NT Live: Thurs Jan 22, 7pm
Runs: 2hrs 30mins incl 20 min interval.
TICKETS 020 7452 3000
In person: Mon– Sat, 9.30am-8pm
On-line: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/tickets
Review: by Carole Woddis of performance seen Dec 10, 2014:
All the fun of the cross-dressed and cross-gendered fair – and some seriousness too.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island’s original gives us a boy’s own story of excitement danger and resolution. Bryony Lavery and Polly Findlay’s Treasure Island however turns out to be something a little bit different in that Jim Hawkins, cabin boy and the book’s narrator has become a girl and so too Dr Livesey and various other crew members of the Hispaniola, bound for treasure island with Long John Silver, Capt Flint his parrot and the rest.
This is a Treasure Island in the spirit of the often rebellious woman-centred Drill Hall pantos Lavery was putting her hand to over twenty five years ago. Finally it seems the National have caught up and for all the young girls in the National’s Christmas and New Year audiences, this Treasure Island will be saying to them: `yes, you too can roam the seven seas. Yes, you too can have adventures. Nothing is beyond you.’ Rites of passage from child to adult are not just the prerogative of one gender.
Indeed, there are so many cross-genders and cross-dressers knocking around in Findlay’s production the term becomes positively meaningless. Not that there aren’t plenty of mustachioed male villains roaming around Lizzie Clachan’s amazing set – a semi-circle of whale bones that later become more than slightly sinister triffid-like pulsating plants – as well as a fully-rigged ship.
Findlay treats us to some magical moments especially in Long John Silver’s lesson to Jim about navigation by the stars, triggering a gorgeous star-burst of constellations above us. John Tams’ sea-shanty songs too, create just the right kind of `Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum’ heartiness.
But for all its fights, dastardly pirates and comic interludes, the emphasis of this Treasure Island remains a serious one of learning who your true friends are, of loyalty and the joy of returning home to the loving arms of a grandmother. Patsy Ferran as Jim delivers this with delectable simplicity and truth and has sturdy comic support from Helen Lymbery (Dr Livesey) and Nick Fletcher (Squire Trelawney) whilst Joshua James’ Ben Gunn is a fascinating reminder of Shakespearean influences from The Tempest and even Lear’s `Poor Tom’. Derring-do with heart!
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Adapted by Bryony Lavery
Cast:
Jim Hawkins: Patsy Ferran
Grandma: Gillian Hanna
Bill Bones: Aidan Kelly
Dr. Livesey: Helena Lymbery
Squire Trelawney/Voice of Parrot: Nick Fletcher
Mrs Crossley: Alexandra Maher
Red Ruth: Heather Dutton
Job Anderson: Raj Bajaj
Silent Sue: Lena Kaur
Black Dog: Daniel Coonan
Blind Pew: David Sterne
Captain Smollett: Paul Dodds
Long John Silver: Arthur Darvill
Lucky Mickey: Jonathan Livingstone
Joan the Goat: Claire-Louise Cordwell
Israel Hands: Angela de Castro
Dick the Dandy: David Langham
Killigrew the King: Alastair Parker
George Badger: Oliver Birch
Grey: Tim Samuels
Ben Gunn: Joshua James
Shanty Singer: Roger Wilson
Parrot (Captain Flint): Ben Thompson
Director: Polly Findlay
Designer: Lizzie Clachan
Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet
Music & Sound: Dan Jones
Songs: John Tams
Fight Director: Brett Yount
Movement: Jack Murphy
Illusionist: Chris Fisher
Music Supervisor: Matthew Scott
Music Director: Theo Jamieson
Comedy Consultant: Clive Mendus
Creative Associate: Carolina Valdés
Company Voice Work: Jeannette Nelson & Daniele Lydon
Staff Director: Sam Caird
Casting: Charlotte Bevan & Juliet Horsley
This version of Treasure Island opened in the Olivier Theatre, London, Dec 10, 2014
2014-12-13 16:59:56
