Treasure Island at the Attfield Theatre

As I reach the end of every production I find there’s a sense of ‘well that’s that then’. It’s a slow release of adrenaline, a feeling of something lost and joy found, as you realise that that is in fact it. The end has come and the show will never be performed again. We all know that I am no stranger to this feeling, but there is something different this time. Instead of the drunken antics, 5am walks home and flurry of posts as everyone publicly mourns the end of the production, the end of a youth group performance is greeted with an hour of party food and the opportunity to meet a few parents. There’s a sense of ending, but as one of the adults of the team it’s different. You can see the ending through friends realising that they will never perform together again, that sixth formers are growing up and planning the next step of their life, but it’s distant.

It has been a strange month for me. Arriving home from Dangerous Liaisons and being instantly thrown into Treasure Island was quite the change of pace. But I did find a home at The Attfield for a little while. There was something grounding about still having rehearsals to attend three times a week amidst the chaos of my post uni life. I have made some new friends, solidified some old connections and had the opportunity to witness the next generation coming into their own. For a few weeks I was just the girl giving prompts and taking some photos, a nameless shadow in many ways. It was quite the shift away from being at the centre of the action, there’s no denying, and I’m far less exhausted right now than I typically would be. Once show week hit, I found ways to gain more responsibility, even if it was down to helping with a costume change or monitoring the corridor between the stage and the dressing rooms. As I look back on the week, my claims to fame are definitely the product in Ben Gunn’s hair, Jim Hawkins’ final costume change and the photography which accidentally hijacked the marketing.

As always there was that surreal relationship of getting to know how people perform before you know the people themselves and show week found me still not knowing some of the cast’s names. I could tell you which ones were well behaved, which the troublemakers, which LAMDA pieces they’d done, which could give OUDS BNOCS some competition and what the adults were saying about them… but for the most part that was it. Predictably, that all changed once show week kicked in. At its core, show week doesn’t change no matter what the show or who the group of people are. The cohesion, the camaraderie, the sense that suddenly you know people so much better are always there. Of course, this was the very much the case on this play as well and by the end, it will surprise no one to hear, I could typically be found chatting in the male dressing room. In some ways, it was like regressing back to high school and being one of the lads again!

There are a range of memorable moments, right from giggling with Long John Silver’s girlfriend throughout whole rehearsals to a part of the set falling over during the final performance. There were missed cues, missed lines, an overzealous pirate fight that eventually resulted in two broken swords… But amongst the things that will forever stay in my mind are the idea that Captain Smollett definitely had a hype playlist (think Sabrina Carpenter, A J Tracey, Eminem’s Houdini and, naturally, Hot to Go) and Ben Gunn gaining the nickname ‘coffee boy’, because what else would you smear yourself in to simulate mud? Face paint and actual mud is the answer to that one! Oh, and being electrocuted on the final night… don’t ask!

Should you play favourites? Certainly not! Do I? Always! No doubt my History Boys will be able to attest to that if anyone is in doubt. But whether my favourite students and my favourite performers correlate is a matter of some debate, and in fact was debated. Some people can be the best performers and the most fun backstage, but this isn’t always the case and truth be told I don’t think that it completely was this time. Let’s just say that each of the ‘lil stalkers’, as they have been affectionately nicknamed, had their own unique quirks and it was a pleasure getting to know the ones that I did. And if some of my darling lil stalkers have discovered the existence of this blog, hello trouble makers and congratulations on the run.

So, here’s to bloody scraped knees, heads colliding with chair legs and overzealous performing. Here’s to virtual tours of Jesus College, the ability to find all of the autistic people in a cast and boys being boys. But, most of all, here’s to a great play, a really fun month and actors who never ceased to innovate and captivate. If I were reviewing, I would have to say that the background action and characterisation was definitely one of the strengths. Ensemble work is a notorious challenge for allowing individuals to shine, but this challenge was readily accepted and during every performance I had one eye on the different scenes taking place behind the main action…there was always something unexpected. And some unexpected things in the main action too!