Heave ho! me hearties Treasure Island is coming to the Theatre Royal

The Theatre Royal’s Young Company is presenting another fantastic production, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Featuring a cast of talented young actor-musicians it sets sail for a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas from Thursday to Saturday, April 5 to 7.

When young Jim Hawkins is left a treasure map by the dying buccaneer Billy Bones, he sets sail on the Hispaniola in search of the island. Among the crew, the one-legged Long John Silver becomes his greatest friend, but Silver has a shocking secret in store, and when they reach their destination Jim faces danger and adventure greater than he could have imagined.

Director David Whitney said: “I chose Treasure Island because of its accessibility for young people, we have a really big cast of 31 so I wanted something that would feel like a true ensemble piece. As with the previous Young Company shows, Arabian Nights and The Jungle Book, it follows the same ethos with regard to age limits, so our youngest member of the cast is 8 and the eldest is 22. That’s really exciting for me as it means that the younger children learn from the experience of the elder ones, and similarly the eldest of the company can revel in the fresh ideas and energies of the youngest.

“This production is particularly special because for the first time we are going to be using actor-musicians, all of whom have been working with Musical Director David Lewington who worked on 2017’s Our Day Out, plus we are delighted to be welcoming Julia Cave back again after her fantastic choreography work on Dick Whittington. It’s really great that the young people can have access to the fantastic artists that we get to work with on a professional basis and that they can learn new skills with us.”

Tickets are on sale at the Box Office, call 01284 769505, book online at www.theatreroyal.org/shows/treasure-island or visit the theatre in person.

Pictured above are the cast rehearsing for the Theatre Royal’s Young Company’s production of Treasure Island. Photo: Aaron Weight