Classic panto

Treasure Island – The Pantomime

By Simon Leary and Gavin Rutherford. Dir Gavin Rutherford

Circa Theatre 18 Nov-23 Dec and 12-13 Jan

Reviewed by Neil Brewer

Walking into the preview performance of this production, the uncovered set (pictured above) was immediately interesting. I have been to the last three of these festive season pantomimes and this one easily stands out as the best yet.

There were clever jokes, there were corny jokes, there were dirty jokes and there were ones that were so topical, they may have been added this week. Hopefully a lot of the dirty ones went over the kids headsl!!

This show is the second where Gavin Rutherford has not played the dame, but his shoes were wonderfully filled by Jthan Morgan and their performance. They have a commanding presence and infectious personality, that dares you to resist. Some of their singing was fantastic and it is easy to see why they are becoming a favourite in this genre.

The show started slightly shakily with the opening number with the youngest cast member playing Sam (Reuben Romanos) singing solo and struggling a bit. He gave a good overall performance though and think the opening was down to nerves as he settled in nicely after a few minutes. Once the entire cast came on, it was evident that this is a very talented team with good vocals and some much needed ad libbing skills when things went slightly awry. This was a preview performance so there were some things that needed ironing out, but that only added to the hilarity in my opinion.

Special shout out to Kathleen Burns, who has travelled from Christchurch to be a part of this show and performed the role of Long John Silver hilariously.  It takes a special talent to play a cross gender role so well and there was one moment that had the audience in fits of laughter that lasted long after she had left the stage.

Natasha McAllister continues to grow as a performer, giving an assured performance with strong vocals. Actually I thought everyone was good!

The set was cleverly designed and used well.  Lighting was also very good. The Circa space is relatively small and with only keyboards to project against, I wondered if there was a need for the head mics that the cast used. That said, sound was not an issue at all, just the natural voice sounds better than an amplified one most of the time.

There was plenty of audience participation which culminated in getting the kids in the audience onto the stage to assist with helping the dame remember who she was. There were some pretty big kids that volunteered, but it was great to see so many wanting to get up there and have a moment on the stage. There were lots of “behind you” and ‘Oh yes they were, oh no they weren’t” moments which the kids love, but the adults secretly do too.

Music was by Michael Nicholas Williams, an absolute legend in musical theatre here in Wellington-he kept the show tempo up and adds so much to any production he is involved with.

Suffice to say, that this show is an absolute treat. Lots to love and exactly what you need when you are heading towards the festive season and you need something to take your mind off the troubles of the day. Highly recommended from this reviewer, and all the friends that came with me. We will be booking again next year.

Tickets available via the Circa webpage.