We sat down with Nick, who will play the part of Jim Lad in Treasure Island, as the multi-award-winning physical comedy company Le Navet Bete bring their smash-hit version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s legendary tale to Oxford Playhouse.
What inspired you to take on Treasure Island – and give it such a wild, hilarious twist?
Treasure Island was a title that had always been in our minds over the years. It’s such a classic adventure / coming of age story and we felt that our style of physical comedy could really work well with the pirates / high seas / double crossing nature of it. The opening scenes set in the Admiral Benbow Inn with Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones and Blind Man Pew are pretty close to the original story but then we’ve used our own artistic licence to create a parallel story full of twists and turns and hilarious surprises!
Physical comedy is at the heart of what Le Navet Bete do – how does that come to life in this production? Any key moments you can hint at?
Our work is has always centred on physical comedy and placing our bodies right at the heart of everything. It’s very slapstick in its nature and that really has such a broad appeal to all ages in the audience, influenced by some of the greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to some of the people we grew up watching on TV like Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, French and Saunders, Monty Python. Matt plays a fantastic mermaid (not in the original book!) and there is a brilliant moment at the end of the first half where he has to get off stage! I’ve seen people in the audience crying with laughter!
here are only four of you in the cast – how on earth do you manage to play all the characters in this epic adventure?
There are only four actors in the show playing around 40 characters in total so it’s as mad backstage as it is on stage! The physicality and changes to our appearance (not just with costume and voice) are vital – and provides some moments of great comedy! We have a brilliant stage manager who works her socks off backstage (and sometimes on stage) to make it all happen. It’s total chaos on stage but, in reality, the show has been rehearsed to within an inch of its life so it’s like a well-oiled machine. Saying that, when things do go wrong it can often provide some brilliant interaction with the audience!
What’s the secret to making such a well-known story feel totally fresh and unexpected?
I think half the fun is using the original source material, in this case the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, and scouring it for fun and exciting narrative that we want to pull out and use. I mean, we’re doing a production of Treasure Island so it does need to be that, but we can always go off in different directions with the material. It keeps it super fun in the rehearsal room too. The nature of pirates is always exciting so there was already a lot to go with. But then a lot of the original text gets bogged down in quite serious story so to keep it fresh and unexpected we have thrown in lots of hilarious things to keep the audience on their toes – a catchy, popular game show, a beautiful mermaid, a certain white-bearded fish finger tycoon and a couple of 80s power ballads for good measure!
The show’s described as a “smash-hit comedy for all the family” – what can audiences of all ages expect when they climb aboard the Jolly Todger?
Audiences of all ages can expect a joyously silly, fast-paced adventure full of physical comedy, quick-fire costume changes and laugh-out-loud moments from start to finish. The show is packed with larger than life characters, ridiculous accents and brilliant set pieces. Whether you’re 5 or 95 you’ll find something to enjoy. It’s pure theatrical fun!
A recent social media comment: “Amazing as usual. Clever, witty humour at many levels. Perfect for families…superb physical theatre too, the energy levels are fantastic…really connect with the audience…special shout out to the mermaid, worth the ticket price alone. Do not miss this show, you’re in for a real treat!”