“Oxen and wain-ropes would not bring me back again to that accursed island; and the worst dreams that ever I have are when I hear the surf booming about its coasts or start upright in bed with the sharp voice of Captain Flint still ringing in my ears: ‘Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), Treasure Island
A Fireside Folktales Performance
Treasure, treachery, mutiny and mayhem all await young Jim Hawkins, as he leaves the Admiral Benbow inn behind and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous voyage to recover Captain Flint’s hidden gold. Pirates, parrots, and plots abound, and Jim must risk everything to save his friends lives – if he can…
Shadow Road’s exciting and emotional new adaptation brings Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic to life in a 50-minute masterpiece which includes their usual stirring sword fights and riveting stage violence. A timeless tale of adventure, courage, friendship, and the endless lure of the distant horizon.
This show features sword fighting and staged violence.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:
- Sun 7th July – Southside House, SW19 4RJ. Tickets available HERE.
- Wed 10th & Thurs 11th July – OSO Arts Centre, SW13 0LF. Tickets available HERE.
- Mon 15th July – The Roman Theatre Open Air Festival, St Albans. Tickets available HERE.
- 2nd-10th August – Edinburgh Fringe, The Space on the Mile. Tickets available HERE.
- Thurs 15th August – The Roman Theatre Open Air Festival, St Albans. Tickets available HERE.
Press reviews
Good to see four women smashing a very male story!
Emma King-Farlow’s script hit the ground running by establishing the set up extremely efficiently (within about five minutes) so that we quickly knew the main characters and their objectives for the story. This was important, because the action was squeezed into only 50 minutes. When you have a young audience, this kind of brevity is a must and the cast need to be able to keep the pace up throughout. The children in the audience seemed interested in the action and were talking about it with gusto as everyone left so a big well done to the actors for engaging them so well.
Scene changes were done by the cast whilst singing a sea shanty. They all had lovely, powerful voices…Acting was of a good standard throughout. Hero, Jim Hawkins, was played with strength by Sarah Robinson. The rest of the cast had a great deal of roles to play between them. Highlights for me were Victoria Adler’s Doctor Livesey, Amy Floyd’s Long John Silver and Emma King-Farlow’s Captain Smollett.
This was a tight group of performers who clearly had a good personal connection and I was delighted to see an all-female cast smashing a male dominated tale. Their sword fighting had been well directed and there was in general a real force to their storytelling throughout….I really liked the ethos of Shadow Road’s production of ‘Treasure Island’ and given that I love seeing theatre in unusual spaces, would be very interested to see future work. They took a well-loved classical story and gave it an engaging new realisation.
If they return to the Roman Theatre Festival next year, please consider buying a ticket, especially if you are a family trying out the festival for the first time
Treasure Island! The classic yarn of piracy and buried gold is a favourite of many a childhood – and this four-handed, all-female adaptation rattles through the story with pace and verve. Alongside the motley crew on board the Hispaniola we travel to the island of the title, and discover there’s not just treasure, but secrets buried there.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s original is drawn in broad strokes, and Shadow Road’s version brings much of the derring-do excitement to the stage. Emma King-Farlow is inspiring in adversity as the upright Captain Smollett, while Sarah Robinson is well-cast as protagonist Jim Hawkins, reflecting our awe at the unfamiliar world he finds himself in while grounding his character firmly in the place he calls home.
The set, too, draws us deftly into the world of the story, whether we’re on the deck of the Hispaniola or manning the barricades in an island redoubt. There’s an accomplished sword-fight to kick things off and a magnificently eye-catching prop as the climax draws near, while the shanty-themed singing during select scene changes captures the shifting mood as the story of betrayal unfolds.
From overheard comments as we filed out of the theatre, it was clear that younger audience members had enjoyed the action. …The thrill of adventure is absolutely there, while the complex alliances and shifting loyalties of Stevenson’s plot are well portrayed.
…A worthy introduction to a classic story.
Audience reviews
Press & Audience Reviews for other Fireside Folktales Productions
~ King-Farlow’s skilfully edited and staged adaptation is perfectly pitched from witchy start to blood-letting finish with the cast of four woman each playing a central role, flipping to a range of vignettes as the plot demanded. They stick to the original text most of the time but judicious insertion of new modern language material bookends the piece as well as providing occasional and helpful plot signposts as the action unfolds. …The quartet use every square inch of a blank stage with exits/entrances at each corner and work hard to ensure the audience feels involved and engaged. Mind you, with the passion, tension and range of other emotions on display, no one’s attention is going to drift far for fear of missing something from what’s a universally strong cast.
…There’s so much about this piece to both admire and enjoy and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into its staging. The witches feline movement, the swirling of their cloaks creating the impression of mist drifting across a desolate Scottish landscape. The use of geometry to keep audience sightlines clear – triangles, diamonds, squares of performers skilfully maintained as they moved around the stage.
…But they saved the best until last – the denouement between Macduff and Macbeth. The stage tension between Floyd and Adler was electric as they circled each other like a pair of prize fighters preparing to go the distance. Verbally it was superb, words being spat with a vehement intensity that raised hairs on the back of the neck. Physically, it was breathtaking, sword fighting that felt real, blood that looked it. Peerless.
Past Productions
