Review: Treasure Island

Ahoy, me Hearties! Avast ye!

Singapore Repertory Theatre's The Little Company's is staging Treasure Island right this moment! Their last curtain call is set on 13 December 2015 so you've really only got three weeks left to catch this humorous and enlivening production. 

Me lad (and lass) sounded their satisfaction with this 90-minute musical with a, "Yo Ho Ho! More!" This is the longest musical production we've brought the children out to. With a 20-minute interval, it meant spending two hours in total at the DBS Arts Centre! This is probably the reason why it is recommended for children aged 5 and above. The children had been introduced to theatre as young as six months of age so no matter how long it might take, I was certain the show will hold their interest from start to finish. Not to mention there will be pirates on stage!

Faye, possibly the youngest patron in the house at 17 months old, sat on the edge of her daddy's thighs and flinched not one bit (except for the moment she decided she needed milk). She watched the cast took the stage with zest and dynamism even though she did not understand the storyline. The music, vibrancy and passion kept her absorbed and intrigued for a very long while. That says a lot of the success in a production - to keep a toddler rooted to her seat for 90 minutes and mimicking the gestures of the cast when they sing "Life on the Sea"! 

I've written only favourable 5 stars upon 5 stars kind of reviews for all TLC's musicals and doesn't that sound a little "too good to be true"? Truth be told, the casts and people behind the scenes are a bunch of dedicated artistes. They produce musicals for children, for little people who aren't exactly critical and look forward only to a day-out with their parents. Yet, the effort in working towards immersing our young generation to the arts and cultural scene is undeniably significant. They've put forward their best actors, the most unforgettable tunes (which makes you want to buy the CD) and the finest props and costumes unimaginable. I enjoyed the show thoroughly and applaud the details of each monmouth cap, cotton waistcoat and stocking; I appreciated that the prop torch they were holding had a fan embedded inside so that the "flames" would flicker like real fire. The music scores were catchy and strikingly memorable, so much so I left the theatre singing to the songs till today. The creative team behind this production deserves a standing ovation!

Shiver me timbers! Ewan got frightened when the thunder sounded and pirates broke out into a fight! He had requested to Go Home. Oh no!!! I didn't want to go home? I want to watch this till the end! A little cuddle and assurance kept him in the theatre without breaking out in tears. The actors  brought the characters to life and it became all so real to a child like Ewan. Now, who were my favourites? The ladies - Jim and Hands played by Ann Lek and Kimberly Chan (We are allowed to show favouritism right?).

Ann Lek, the lead of the musical, played Jim Hawkins. Jim is a lion-hearted 13 year old girl who received a treasure map from a kooky old seaman. She is tasked to help find the hidden treasure but the road to riches was not smooth-sailing. How is Jim a girl? TLC had turned the supposed novel written for boys into one that will be welcomed by all children. They made Jim Hawkins a girl because girls can too have dreams of sailing away to hunt for treasures! Ann is a petite girl with a big voice. The song in the video at the start of the blog belonged to her. "Singing Wey-Yo, Life on the Sea!"

Kimberly Chan, played three roles in Treasure Island! You heard me right. She changed into three different costumes and played three different characters so impressively well. Sheh was Jim Hawkins' mother, Ben Gunn and Hands! She has an infectious energy on stage that made me sit up from my seat. She is fearless in her acting and conjures a sort of natural confidence on stage. I enjoyed her vocals very much!

The men in the 6-member cast were also commendable! They were hilarious and very talented. We broke out into many hearty laughters during the musical for its humour and absolutely loved the close encounters with the actors when they came running around us with roars of pirate fury. I must especially give the production team credit for getting the audience to join in a dance and song at the end of the show. There will bound to be audience participation in every musical TLC stages, which is necessary especially for with a theatre filled with children!

With a review like this, I don't kid you and you know I don't. Go get those tickets purchased! Savvy? At the end of the story, your children will learn that friendship solves all problems. All you need is a friend!

To purchase tickets:
Visit Sistic

Discounts:
There are a range of discount tiers available for Treasure Island including family packages. Enjoy 10% off if you pay by MasterCard or a StarHub subscriber. Should you be staff of MasterCard, StarHub, Nexus International or Abbott, you will get to enjoy 20% off your ticket price! Find out more on Sistic.

Now, let us learn Pirate:

Ahoy, me Hearties! Avast ye!

translates to

Hello, my friends! Stop and check this out!

Me

translates to

My

Lad

translates to

Boy

Lass

translates to

Girl

Yo Ho Ho

translates to

Cheerful exhortation to demand attention

Shiver Me Timbers

translates to

Expressing shock, surprise or annoyance

Savvy?

translates to

Do you understand?

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. 
We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.