Treasure Island at Farlington

21 Jan 2014

It was laughter-ahoy and all aboard the good ship Hispaniola as we sailed with the Lower School Production to ‘Treasure Island’. There were the obligatory pirates, of course, admirably led by Rebecca Farman in great form as the much-feared Long John Silver. Cabin boy Jim Hawkins, played to perfection by Summer Raemason, won the day, with the help of her good pirates. The old myth of women being bad luck at sea was well and truly blown out of the water by the admirable skills of Abbie-May Hart playing feisty Lady Trelawney. Abbie-May kept her rag-tag crew under control with the professional help of the unflappable Captain Smollett (Olivia Bell) and no-nonsense landlady Meg Trueblood, played by Hannah Carleton-Jepson. Her on-stage sister Miss Livesay (Ellie Crouch) was a butterfly-loving delight.

Natasha Pennington made a superb Captain Flint’s parrot. Eleana Beresford Pratt played her usual comic role  with pizazz, aided and abetted by Bibi de Bruijn as Black Dog, a canine-human cross with a nice line in facial expressions and body language. Cheese-loving Ben Gunn was played with superb comical skills by Lucy Hourihan, who made the audience laugh out loud, while pirates, good and bad, included Clarissa Burnell-Price, Sophie Kitson, Amber Dale, Alberta Dale, Emma Kennard, Alexandra Godmon, Sarah Hardy, Millie Jewry, Sophie Hunt, Meg Savage, Sahara Coles, Daisy Taylor, Jade Mulholland, Julia Richardson, Ella Bubb and Kira Hyde.

The whole ensemble must be particularly congratulated for performing on the first night without their expected sound cues due to a last-minute technical hitch. Mark Slawinski picked up his guitar and improvised superbly and the young cast not only coped but did so with a professionalism that many older crews could not have matched. The stunning set design was created by the ever-talented Judith Browne. Costumes were created by Sandra Wilson and her team. Special effects were produced by Victoria Kent, with sound and lighting by Meredith Oram and Katie Speers. Make-up and hair was done by Lizzie Booth, Lucy Cooper, Ellie Burnell-Price and Matilda Taylor. The whole delightful romp through the high seas and sands of the island was directed with skill, good humour and incredible calm-in-the-face-of-adversity by Mark Slawinski.

Ms Williams, Head of Years 10 and 11