Newbury swashbuckles up on a riotous trip to Treasure Island

Le Navet Bete: Treasure Island, at the Corn Exchange, from Thursday, July 7, to Saturday, July 9. Review by ROBIN STRAPP

The Corn Exchange’s foyer was bedecked with pirate flags and many of the audience dressed up in costume in anticipation of Le Navet Bete’s swashbuckling production of Treasure Island.

It’s a spirited, energetic production, filled with daring physical comedy and is huge fun, performed in the company’s unique chaotic style of storytelling.

The cast of four – Al Dunn, Dan Bianchi, Matt Freeman and Nick Bunt – are consummate masters in the art of clowning, especially when things go wrong, as they often do, much to the delight of the audience.

They play a multitude of characters, changing genders, costumes, and wigs with amazing speed which is hilarious. They even have a mermaid and a gorilla... you had to be there.

The story of Jim Hawkins inheriting a treasure map and his journey to the Caribbean to retrieve it is well-known. However, with shipmates Long John Silver, Captain Birdseye, Black Dog, Blue Peter and Billy Bones and a parrot called Alexa (well, it was from the Amazon), this was certainly not a conventional retelling of the tale.

Fi Russell’s multi-level set cleverly transforms from the Benbow Inn to the schooner The Jolly Todger and, yes, there were plenty of innuendos and groan-making puns. They end in the lush tropical island with trap doors to hide the buried treasure. All created with inventive flair.

There was lots of audience participation including a game of ‘play your cards right’.

There was a hilarious panto skit on the confusion of the crew’s names “who” “what” and “I don’t know” – superb word play.

Music played an important part in the play with songs such as Walking on Sunshine, Total Eclipse of the Heart and a rousing chorus of a very camp In The Navy.

Directed by John Nicholson and atmospherically lit by Alex Best with original songs by Peter Coyte this was a superb riotous evening of fun.