In April, The Hawth Theatre, Crawley will celebrate it’s 32nd birthday, 32 years as a home for the very best touring shows around, but 2020 sees a brand new direction for the theatre as it presents it’s first ever in-house production, Treasure Island.
Most people are familiar with Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, pirates and buried treasure but, in the very talented hands of five adult and 10 juvenile actors, under the direction of Sarah Slator, this 140 year old tale has a whole new lease of life.
The stage is set through the middle of the studio theatre with seats both left and right, and a cleverly designed set that, with minimal effort, transforms elegantly from scene to scene to convincingly become everything from a tavern to a sailing ship.
The majority of the cast play multiple roles but, with full costume changes, different accents and terrifically good characterisation, all the personalities on stage are clearly defined and recognisable.
The tale is narrated by Hawkins (Liam Watts), an older version of the character Jim (Sebastian Oglaza), who also appears in the piece. Both young men perform very well, appearing together but, as they are two versions of the same person, each one never acknowledges that the other is there.
The adults in the play are responsible for the incidental music, the rousing sea shanties and for playing the other main characters. Musical Director Simon Stallard appears mostly as Dr Livesey but is also responsible for bringing the characters of Israel Hands and Black Dog to life. Ethan Taylor starts off as Billy Bones but, after Bones’ untimely demise, reappears as Long John Silver. Charlie Cooper just has one role, that of Squire Trelawney, but he gives the part bundles of enthusiasm and energy.
Kim Wright shows tremendous versatility as Mother Hawkins, Blind Pew and Captain Smollett with Hazel Monaghan acting her socks off as Beth, Morgan and the wonderfully crazy Ben Gunn – a man who displays an almost unnatural desire for cheese – preferably toasted!
The remaining members of the juvenile cast, Cameron Chatt, Amelia Duncan, Emilia Marzec, Elodie Hitchcock, Lucy Virrill, Chloe Smith, Harvey Rose and Lilly Tay, play the parts of villagers and pirates. It is always heartening to see youngsters being given the chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with professional actors, as it so good for their professional development – and it helps the kids a lot too!
As the main bulk of the cast are juveniles there is a second full team who will play alternate performances. In a quirky twist, Jim Hawkins becomes Jem Hawkins at these performances with Delilah Skyme as Jem, Myah Banton as Hawkins and they will be supported by Gabriel De Rosa, Amelie-Eve Idle, Isabella Fenwick, Ryan Cornish, Ava Mclean, Eleanor Quayle, Stanley Bell and Sophie Rees.
In such an intimate atmosphere, as the cast burst into yet another sea shanty and and with such clever lighting, it is very easy to be transported onto the deck of the Hispaniola, or to the lonely shores of Treasure Island, with full marks to the creative team at The Hawth, in collaboration with the This Is My Theatre Company, for doing such a superb job.
The production is quite “wordy” and although it takes a few minutes to become accustomed to the use of “Olde English”, it just goes to enhance the tale and sets it firmly in both time and place. All fifteen actors handle the, sometimes complex, dialogue with skill and deliver it well.
All those involved should be justifiably proud that a debut production such as this could be so good and so well received – the remaining performances are all sold out – although I would recommend checking with the box office for any returns as, for pure escapism and a superb quality theatrical production, Treasure Island is the best place to be.
***** Five Stars