Treasure Island

From the play program:  When Robert Louis Stevenson first penned Treasure Island in 1881, no one at all thought that adventures were for girls.  However, Bryony Lavery's 2014 adaption boldly reinvisions the classic adventure tale with a much more inclusive group of characters.  The now female Dr. Livesey declares "girls need adventures too," as she takes the female protagonist, Jim Hawkins, with here on her adventure.  The play opned at the National Theatre in London in 2015, and has now found its way across the ocean to the very appropriately named Burrell Buccaneer stage.

The play opens with Bill Bones' mysterious arrival at the Admiral Benbow Inn, where he demands grog and everyone's watchfulness for a one-legged man.  The image haunts Jim as more strangers appear and come into conflict with Bones before his death at the hands of "the Black Spot."  After narrowly escaping the pirates after Bones' chest, Jim, Trelawney, and Livesey discover a treasure map that they are determined to pursue.  Trelawney outfits a ship and hires a captain and crew full of tough, salty seadogs to help make the passage.

Unfortunately, after bonding with the captain, Silver, Jim finds out that he is indeed the one-legged man of Bill Bones' nightmares, and she must find a way to save her friends, salvage the ship, and take home the treasure they have sacrificed so much to find.

Writing Contributor:  Brooke Clark

Photography Contributor:  Mrs. Aranyos