Le Navet Bete and Barbican Theatre present
Treasure Island
A cast of four put a fresh, funny twist on Robert Louis Stevenson’s legendary tale. This is Treasure Island you’ve never seen it before. A show that’s laced with a whole host of contemporary comedic twists, including an unusual motley crew of pirates, a parrot called Alexa (straight from the Amazon), a certain white bearded fish finger tycoon and a mermaid you’ll never forget.
Published and licensed worldwide by Nick Hern Books in 2020, Treasure Island is the company’s seventh collaboration with one of UK theatre’s leading comedy directors and writers John Nicholson. Bristol-based John is Artistic Director of the award-winning Peepolykus (The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary) and has previously written for BBC Radio 4, ITV and Paramount.
John is joined on the creative team by Devon-based designer Fi Russell whose ingenious and versatile set takes audiences from the lofty heights of a ship’s sail to the sandy beaches of a tropical island in a matter of seconds, and composer Peter Coyte, whose thrilling original score perfectly complements the adventure unfolding on stage.
Co-writer and director John Nicholson said: “Le Navet Bete have an inimitable flair for multi character work and also a love/predilection for bonkers storytelling. Treasure Island is an epic, escapist, coming of age adventure. It’s a big story. So theatrical adaptations tend to employ sizeable casts. This adaptation however is written for a cast of four actors, who seamlessly transition between 26 characters – so it’s certainly epic backstage!“.
Nick Bunt from Le Navet Bete added: “Robert Louis Stevenson’s original tale had always been one in the back of our minds; the characters and narrative give us so much to work with, to create an immensely fun, true to the story (ish!), larger-than-life world to play with and put our own hilariously chaotic spin on.”
Suitable for ages 7+ and their families.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Bringing the story to life with bundles of energy and fun” – West End Best Friend
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Ideal for children who love an adventure” – Reviews Hub
Le Navet Bete (Co-Writers and Performers) have wowed audiences globally since their formation in 2007. The company of four (Al Dunn, Matt Freeman, Dan Bianchi and Nick Bunt) first met each other whilst studying on the Theatre and Performance course at the University of Plymouth in 2003 and, since graduating, have produced fourteen indoor and three outdoor performances to huge critical acclaim and success. Their first two shows Serendipity and Zemblanity, heavily influenced by bouffon and non-narrative structures, were performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008 and 2009 respectively and gained multiple five-star reviews.
As the company developed and grew over the following years, their inimitable style of performance became much more storytelling/narrative-driven with hit shows as they began collaborating with writer and director John Nicholson. Three of their productions Dracula: The Bloody Truth, Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers: A Comedy Adventure have been published and licensed worldwide by Nick Hern Books with sell-out performances in Canada, the USA and New Zealand. With Exeter as their base, they are Associate Artists at the Exeter Northcott Theatre and Artists in Residence at the Exeter Phoenix.
More at www.lenavetbete.com
John Nicholson (Writer and Director) is a writer, performer and director and is an Artistic Director of the award-winning Peepolykus with whom he has created 12 productions that have toured the company world-wide and into the West End with The Hound of the Baskervilles (which has also been licensed over 200 times worldwide). It’s published by Nick Hern Books alongside four of John’s other adaptations; The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary, Dracula: The Bloody Truth, The Three Musketeers: A Comedy Adventure and Treasure Island. For BBC Radio 4, John has written two afternoon plays, two series of A Trespasser’s Guide To The Classics and a series of short stories with Rik Mayall. Writing/performing credits for TV include BBC3, BBC2, Paramount and ITV. Writing/directing commissions for theatre includes Aardman, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Lyric Hammersmith, Leeds Playhouse, Traverse Edinburgh, Jermyn Street Theatre, Barbican Plymouth, Sydney Opera House, Pickled Image, National Youth theatre, British YMT, LIPA, Bath Theatre Royal, Pentabus, London Old Vic, Royal National Theatre, Spymonkey, Paul Merton, Nina Conti Neal Street Productions and Le Navet Bete. More at www.johnnicholsoncomedytheatredirector.com/about
The Three Musketeers: A Comedy Adventure
The Three Musketeers: A Comedy Adventure
The Three Musketeers: A Comedy Adventure
MORE SHOWS TO CHOOSE FROM
